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Six area women, poised and confident, showed off their beauty and talent June 10 in the western Wisconsin version of the Miss Wisconsin Pageant.
The Miss Wisconsin contestants are: Miss Arcadia, Sarah Kulig; Miss Coulee Region, Miranda Rosenthal from Onalaska; Miss Holmen, Hannah Rock; Miss La Crosse/Oktoberfest, Katie Ekern; Miss Madison Capital City, Kristina Smaby from Holmen; and Miss Onalaska, Sarah Beier.
The preview event, held at Valhalla Auditorium at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, was a dress rehearsal for the six area contestants to work out the jitters and flaws in their outfits and performances before the actual pageant. The audience filling the auditorium got a chance to see the contestants’ talent as well as their outfits for the Merchant’s Dinner, the first time they meet the judges, the swimsuits and evening gowns.
“We West Side Girls have so much fun,” Rock said after the preview performance. “When you win these local titles, you are just inducted into a family that helps each other. We remind each other to have fun.”
“This is fun,” Beier said. “It’s one last hoorah for the West Side Girls.”
“I had a great time,” Rosenthal said after the preview performance. “I’m stoked. This calmed my nerves.”
“Backstage there was such high intensity,” Rosenthal laughed. “Shoes were flying, rhinestones sticking, it was lots of excitement. The West Side Girls are so welcoming and nice and supportive.”
Rock agreed about the backstage mayhem. “It was all kinds of confusion about what we were supposed to do. This was our first time out in front of an audience.”
Rock said she wasn’t intimidated by the thought of other contestants. “I’m just going to have a good time.”
Smaby is just as confident as the rest of them. “I could leave tomorrow,” she said. “I’m relaxed and refreshed.
Smaby said she doesn’t think about her competition. “I’m my best competition,” she said. “If I look at it as a competition, it would be a hard week. At the end of the day, what God’s will is, will be. I’m strong in my faith and I’m going to need that for this coming week.”
The Miss Wisconsin Pageant is being held in Oshkosh this week, with the crowning of the winner on Saturday, June 20.
For those who can’t attend the show, The Oshkosh Northwestern newspaper will offer live streaming video of the pageant on Thursday, Friday and Saturday starting at 7:30 p.m. Viewers can log on to
www.thenorthwestern.com and click on the link on their home page.
The contestants are:
Miranda RosenthalParents: Keith and Laura Rosenthal
School: Attending University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, nursing; Onalaska High School
Platform: Mentoring
Talent: Vocal, “As Long as You’re Mine” from the musical “Wicked”
Sarah BeierParents: Thomas and Tami Beier
School: Attending Viterbo University, elementary education: West Salem High School
Platform: Blood donation
Talent: Vocal, Natalie Cole’s “Orange Colored Sky”
Kristina SmabyParents: Kathy Zillmer and Frank Smaby
School: Viterbo University,
management and marketing; Holmen High School
Platform: Connecting generations
Talent: Dance to “River Deep, Mountain High”
Hannah RockParents: Gary and Beth Rock
School: University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, political science,
pre-law; Holmen High School
Platform: Your voice, your vote
Talent: Dance/twirl to “Right Now”
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