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MSU grad wins Miss Mississippi |
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Monday, 20 July 2009 |
By GWEN SISSON
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Anna Tadlock began Miss Mississippi Week as Miss New South, but by Saturday night, she was wearing a new crown.
Singing a beautiful piece from the musical Jekyll and Hyde, Mississippi State University graduate Anna Tadlock stole the judges hearts and was crowned Miss Mississippi.
The Brandon resident won the Miss Mississippi Scholarship Pageant Saturday night, after making the final 10 for the third straight year. She will now represent the state at the Miss America pageant on Jan. 20 in Las Vegas. And she wins a $10,000 scholarship.
“It feels pretty amazing,” Tadlock said in a television interview. “I’m so honored and so blessed.”
The Associated Press reported that Tadlock won two preliminaries over the pageant’s first three nights, taking the swimwear and talent competitions.
Tadlock was one of 11 Mississippi State University students to participate in this year’s pageant. Other participants included Fenly Akers, Sarah Beth James, Corie Stanford, Meagan Holiday, Robyn Ford, Elizabeth Bailey, Rachel Hughes, Shelby Corn Sarah Dale Simpkins and Danielle Smith.
Of the 11 MSU students, five were named to the Top 10 finalists in Saturday night’s competition. In addition to Tadlock, Sarah Beth James, Danielle Smith, Fenley Akers and Corie Stanford made it to the Top 10. James and Stanford both made it to the Top 10 in last year’s competition, and Smith was third runner-up in the 2008 competition.
The Top 10 finalists began the night with the talent competition, which counted 30 percent of the final score.
There were six contestants who sang, and of those, two were operatic performances.
In addition to Tadlock’s rendition of a piece from the musical, Jekyll and Hyde, Corie Stanford sang “Time to Say Goodbye.” Sarah Beth James gave a piano performance with the song “Piano Fantasy.” Danielle Smith performed a dance from the musical, The Lion King. And Fenley Akers gave a ballet performance.
On Friday night of the preliminaries, the group preforming the talent portion of the competition proved the saying that the Miss Mississippi Pageant is one of the hardest pageants in the country to judge. Rachael Shannon and MSU’s Tadlock, gave equally vibrant performances in the talent category and were equally rewarded at the end of the evening, according to Miss Mississippi officials.
Among the non-finalist talent winners, MSU student Meagan Holiday was among six contestants who won a $700 scholarship in the preliminary talent competition.
Other scholarships announced included two from the Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency to MSU students, Sarah Beth James and Rachel Hughes.
The competition continued with the swimsuit competition, which counted for 20 percent of the overall score.
On Thursday night of the preliminary competition, Tadlock was tied with Miss Hattiesburg with the highest scores in their group in the lifestyle and fitness category.
On Friday night of the preliminaries, MSU’s Danielle Smith, took home the bouquet of roses in the Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit category for her group.
Finalists then moved into a combination of the interview and evening wear segment. The interview counted for 20 percent of the competition and evening wear and overall composite accounted for 30 percent of the overall score.
The questions ranged from the pop culture to making the Miss Mississippi title relevant in today’s society.
Tadlock was asked if Michael Jackson will be remembered for his talent or for the controversy surrounding his personal life?
“For me and for so many others, we want to remember him for his great talent,” Tadlock said.
But the controversy is there, she said.
Taran Foshee, MSU alum and host of the 2009 Miss Mississippi Scholarship Pageant, asked each contestant about the dress she was wearing.
Tadlock said she originally had planned on a white or off-white dress, but after ordering the fabric, it was more of a champagne color. The dress was designed for her, and she said she loved the end result.
It was then time for the final five.
Miss Hattiesburg Mary Brandon Norman was named the fourth runner-up.
Miss Southern Magnolia Kristen Benigno, of Laurel, was named third runner-up.
Miss Deep South Rachael Shannon, of Byram, was second runner-up.
Miss Heartland Danielle Smith, of Meridian, and a MSU student, was the first runner-up, after finishing third in last year’s competition.
Tadlock was named Miss Mississippi 2009, and succeeds 2008 winner Christine Kozlowski, of D’Iberville.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 21 July 2009 )
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