FROM STAFF REPORTS

SYLACAUGA – Fifty young women from 39 communities across Alabama will arrive in Sylacauga on Friday, March 2, for the 2018 Miss Alabama’s Outstanding Teen Pageant.

Three performances will be held at B.B. Comer Memorial High School beginning on Saturday, March 3.

Preliminary competitions will begin on Saturday at 2 p.m. Contestants are divided into two groups, and Group A will participate in physical fitness and evening wear competitions while Group B will participate in talent competition.

At 7 p.m., Group B will participate in physical fitness and evening wear while Group A will compete in talent.

On Sunday, March 4, the final competition culminating with the crowning of Miss Alabama’s Outstanding Teen 2018 will begin at 2 p.m. The top 15 will be announced followed by evening wear competition.

Then the top 10 semifinalists will be announced and they will compete in physical fitness and talent, narrowing the competition to the top five contestants.

Local contestants will include Blakely Channell, a sophomore at Thompson High School; Katie Gray, a sophomore at Oak Mountain High School; Lauren McCombs, a freshman at Thompson High School; Maddie Machovec, a freshman at Thompson High School in Alabaster; Kirkland Thomas, a junior at Chelsea High School; and Emma Walters, a seventh grade student at Briarwood Christian School.

Miss America’s Outstanding Teen 2018, Jessica Baeder of Alabama, will serve as mistress of ceremonies on Saturday and will be featured on Sunday.

The performances will also feature Miss Alabama’s Outstanding Teen 2017, Lauren Bradford of Gulf Shores, and Miss Alabama, Jessica Procter of Tuscaloosa, will serve as mistress of ceremonies on Sunday.

On Sunday, contestants who will be competing for the title of Miss Alabama 2018 will be in attendance and introduced onstage. Throughout the weekend, each contestant’s Rising Star will be featured. Rising Stars are young girls, ages 7-11, who are being mentored by the contestants. They will participate in a production number and will be introduced on Saturday evening. The Rising Stars represent 37 communities throughout Alabama – from Dothan to Madison and from Wedowee to Tuscaloosa.

Approximately $500,000 in scholarships will be made available to contestants. Each contestant will compete in private interview with the judges, physical fitness, talent, and evening wear.

Admission is $20 per person for each performance, and tickets can be purchased at the door.

In addition to receiving the crown and representing Alabama at the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Pageant in Orlando this summer, the winner will also receive a four-year scholarship to the University of Alabama, Auburn University, Troy University, the University of Montevallo, and Jacksonville State University; a four-year renewable scholarship to the University of North Alabama, and a one-year scholarship to Wallace State Community College.