() Comments
Burlington woman comes close at Miss Wisconsin pageant
By Journal Times wire services
OSHKOSH - Miss Burlington, Caitlin Morrall, was first runner-up at Saturday's Miss Wisconsin Pageant, finishing just behind Miss New Berlin who will reign as Miss Wisconsin.
Meghan Coffey, this year's Miss New Berlin, was crowned Saturday night at the Alberta Kimball Civic Auditorium at Oshkosh West High School. She succeeds the outgoing Miss Wisconsin, Tracy Gest, who won a year ago while also competing as Miss New Berlin.
Coffey, a graduate of Marquette University, won the preliminary contest in the swimsuit category Friday night. For her talent, she performed a novelty dance to "Stuff Like That There."
Second runner-up was Miss Southern Wisconsin Michelle Smukowski, third runner-up was Miss Fox River Valley Megan Llyne, and fourth runner-up was Miss Milwaukee Ashley Spingola.
Lyne, a Carthage College student, won the talent award at the conclusion of the preliminary round of the Miss Wisconsin 2006 pageant here late Friday night. Lyne, 21, Miss Fox River Valley, won with a vocal performance of "Astonishing." Lyne, who was third runner-up in 2003 as Miss Kenosha, is a senior music major at Carthage College in Kenosha.
Three women with area ties also competed the pageant preliminary competitions Miss Racine, Briana Rose Lipor, 19, a sophomore at UW-Parkside competed with Miss St. Francis, Andrea Catherine Berndt, 23, of Oak Creek. Berndt attended UW-Parkside and previously competed in the Miss Racine pageant.
The new state queen will win over $10,000 in scholarships and advance to the 2007 Miss America pageant in January.
Four women were winners during the first round of preliminary competition judging Thursday night.
Miss Door County, Wendy Marie Buechel, 23, of Sturgeon Bay tied with Miss Southern Wisconsin, Michelle Marie Smukowski, 21, of Cudahy, for the first round of talent prizes. Buechel, from rural Fond du Lac, sang Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro" while Smukowski sang the classic "Somewhere Over The Rainbow."
A second set of tied winners came in the preliminary swimsuit scoring. Miss La Crosse/Oktoberfest, Elisabeth Mary Bruzek, 23, a New Prague, Minn., native and Viterbo University graduate, and Miss Mississippi Valley, Alexandra Bivort Kealey, 24, of Merton in Waukesha County, tied for the swimsuit honors Thursday night. Last year Kealey, a Hope College-Chicago graduate, was first runner-up in the pageant competing as Miss Wisconsin West.
Coffey, 22, of New Berlin, who won the swimsuit award Friday, won the same award last year when she was named fourth runner-up. The former Miss Milwaukee 2005 is a recent engineering graduate of Marquette
University.
Visiting the pageant were two former Miss Racine winners who later became Miss Wisconsin. Jeanie Marie Pfeiffer (Miss Racine 1985/Miss Wisconsin 1988) and Kimberly Jean Totdahl (Miss Racine 1984/Miss Wisconsin 1989) attended the 3-hour show Friday night. Former Miss America 1987, Kellye Michele Cash Sheppard of Milan, Tenn., served as pageant host for the third time. She emceed in 1996 and 1999.
Twenty-eight women competed in the 2006 Miss Wisconsin pageant, the most since the same number participated in the 1987 state pageant.
Special Offer: Get 5 Weeks of the Journal Times for $7!
|
 |
|
| If you find one of your notebooks ... | Armenians celebrate culture, tradition |
