Outstanding Teens compete

June 25, 2010|By KATE S. ALEXANDER

Ric Dugan, Staff Photographer

HAGERSTOWN - The 24 contestants in the Miss Maryland Outstanding Teen competition filled The Maryland Theatre stage Friday with talent, grace and critical thinking during the final phases of the 2010 pageant.

The top 10 contestants for Miss Maryland Outstanding Teen will be announced tonight, the last night of the Miss Maryland competition, according to pageant auditors.

Once named, the top 10 will compete for the crown and title of Miss Maryland Outstanding Teen.

The teen competition is a training ground for the Miss America and Miss USA programs, said Katrina Owens, Miss Maryland 1986, who served as mistress of ceremonies Friday.

"This really does help them in improving and developing," she said. "These are really hard skills to learn at this age."

The state's outstanding teens modeled evening wear, performed their talents and answered questions posed by one another as the final phases of the competition.

In the popular talent portion, the girls danced, sang and played instruments.

Miss Hagerstown Outstanding Teen, Mary Teal Mulligan, performed a tap dance to "Forget About the Boy" from the musical "Thoroughly Modern Millie."

As her last tap fell, she was met with a roar of cheers from the audience.

When asked during the first round of on-stage questions what is the most difficult part of being a teen today, Miss Washington County Outstanding Teen, Taylor Lokey, said it was the dynamic with adults.

"The most difficult part is that adults expect us to live up to what they did and don't realize that it is harder today because of all the new technologies," she said. "Adults, they don't know about Facebook and cell phones and all the things that can occur."

There to pass the crown onto a new winner, Miss Maryland Outstanding Teen 2009 Stephanie Meadowcroft of Bel Air, Md., also took a moment to share her experiences after winning the title.

"With winning the title, you do not know what to expect, but it has been so great," she said. She said she has been able to share her platform enriching the lives of senior citizens with many people.

Stephanie's advice to the contestants was to have fun and do their best because it was the their moment to shine.

Miss Maryland Outstanding Teen qualifies for the Miss America Outstanding Teen pageant set for Aug. 24 to 28 in Orlando, Fla.

The girls are judged on talent, lifestyle and fitness, evening wear, answers to an on-stage question, private interviews with judges and scholastic achievement.

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