Miss Georgia, Miss Iowa win final night of Miss America preliminaries

Miss Georgia was named the preliminary talent winner and Miss Iowa the preliminary lifestyle and fitness winner Thursday during the last of three preliminary rounds at the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, N.J.

Miss Georgia, Betty Cantrell, was named Thursday night’s preliminary talent winner for her operatic vocal performance of “Tu Tu Piccolo Iddio.” She will receive a $2,000 scholarship. Also capturing the spotlight was Miss Iowa, Taylor Wiebers, who was the preliminary lifestyle and fitness winner in a blue swimsuit. Wiebers, who also won the first night of preliminary competition talent, is the first double preliminary winner since 2001. She will receive an additional $1,000 scholarship.

Miss Florida Katherine Fechtel won the swimsuit competition and Miss Louisiana April Nelson claimed the talent portion of the second night preliminaries Wednesday at the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, N.J.

On Tuesday night, Miss South Carolina Daja Dial won the swimsuit competition, and Miss Iowa Taylor Wiebers won the talent portion.

The new Miss America will be crowned in Sunday night’s nationally televised finale.

Contestants from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are vying for the crown. The U.S. Virgin islands, which competed last year, could not field the required minimum number of entrants this year, pageant officials said. It is eligible for future competitions.

Read more about Miss Hawaii Jeanne Kapela, who hails from Captain Cook, by clicking here.

Based on scoring during the preliminary rounds, the top contestants are selected to compete in the final round. From there, competitions gradually narrow the field to the top five competitors. A final ballot determines the actual winner.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.