VA, NC out at Miss America, leaving 13 queens

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Beauty queens from Virginia and North Carolina have been eliminated from the Miss America pageant in Las Vegas, leaving 13 contestants in the running for the title with three competitions to come.

Judges picked 12 semifinalists to move on to the evening gown competition, including:

Miss South Carolina Bree Boyce, Miss Florida Kristina Janolo, Miss New York Kaitlin Monte, Miss Iowa Jessica Pray, Miss Texas Kendall Morris, Miss Illinois Hannah Smith, Miss Arizona Jennifer Sedler, Miss Tennessee Erin Hatley, Miss Wisconsin Laura Kaeppeler, Miss California Noelle Freeman and Miss Louisiana Hope Anderson.

Miss Alabama Courtney Porter was then picked by fellow state titleholders to move on in the pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

Miss Oklahoma Betty Thompson was announced as a semifinalist selected by an online fan vote at the start of the show.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

Miss America is getting ready to transfer her crown again to one of 53 pageant queens looking to prove they’ve got a winning combination of looks, talent and smarts to justify a yearlong run with the title.

A panel of seven judges was set to pick the next Miss America on Saturday night during a live telecast on ABC, the culmination of a week of preliminary competitions and months of preparations for the titleholders from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Teresa Scanlan, a Nebraskan who won Miss America last year at age 17 to become the pageant’s youngest winner ever, said contestants nerves will likely be at their highest point just before the pageant.

But the young women have already given judges a first impression, she said, and largely shaped their fate through three nights of preliminary competitions at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

“You can always breathe a sigh of relief” once the live pageant begins, Scanlan said.

Scanlan said the ultimate winner will have thought not only about receiving the crown and $50,000 scholarship, but also about her plans for spending the year as Miss America, touring the country to speak to different groups and raising money for the Children’s Miracle Network, the Miss America Organization’s official charity.

“It’s not just life ends when they place the crown on your head,” Scanlan said. “Being prepared for that is even more important than just being prepared through Saturday night.”

To win, each will have to impress the panel in preliminary competitions that include an extensive interview to become one of the top 15 finalists.

More contestants will be eliminated Saturday night during swimsuit, evening gown and talent competitions.

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