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Miss Nebraska wins 2011 Miss America pageant

LAS VEGAS (AP) ― A 17-year-old from Nebraska became the youngest winner of the Miss America crown in 90 years on Saturday after beating 52 other young women from across the United States.

Teresa Scanlan won a $50,000 scholarship and a yearlong run with the crown at the competition at the Planet Hollywood casino-resort in Las Vegas.

She was the youngest Miss America since the pageant’s first competition in 1921, when Margaret Gorman of the District of Columbia won at age 15.

Miss Arkansas Alyse Eady won $25,000 as first runner-up, while Miss Hawaii Jalee Fuselier won $20,000 for third place.

Scanlan, a recent high school graduate from the western Nebraska town of Gering, planned to study American politics at Patrick Henry College in Virginia after her reign as Miss America.

She also hoped to attend law school, become a judge and eventually a politician, according to her pageant biography.
Miss Nebraska Teresa Scanlan is crowned Miss America 2011 during the Miss America pageant Saturday in Las Vegas. (AP-Yonhap News)
Miss Nebraska Teresa Scanlan is crowned Miss America 2011 during the Miss America pageant Saturday in Las Vegas. (AP-Yonhap News)


Scanlan won after strutting in a black bikini and a white evening gown, playing “White Water Chopped Sticks” on piano and telling the audience that when it comes to the website Wikileaks, security should come before public access to government information.

“You know when it came to that situation, it was actually based on espionage, and when it comes to the security of our nation, we have to focus on security first and then people’s right to know, because it’s so important that everybody who’s in our borders is safe and so we can’t let things like that happen, and they must be handled properly,” she said.

The contestants ― from every state plus the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico ― started the show by dancing up the aisles while wearing silver cocktail dresses.

A panel of seven judges eyed them for looks and fitness. The competition included evening gown, talent and interview portions, with eliminations for 15 finalists, then 12, then 10, five and finally the winner along the way.

The judges had picked Miss Oklahoma Emoly West; Miss Texas Ashley Melnick; Miss Rhode Island Deborah Saint-Vil; Miss Utah Christina Lowe; Miss Washington Jacquie Brown; Miss Arizona Kathryn Bulkley; Miss Virginia Caitlin Uze, and Miss California Arianna Afsar.

Fans voted in Miss New York Claire Buffie and Miss Delaware Kayla Martell.

And in a first-ever twist for the contest, the young women picked two finalists themselves, Miss Kentucky Djuan Trent and Miss Oregon Stephenie Denise Steers.

In her introduction to the audience, Bulkley dedicated her performance to U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head last week in Tucson. Bulkley called Giffords her mentor.

The pageant celebrated its 90th anniversary this year.

<한글 요약> 

17세 최연소 미스아메리카 화제


네브라스카주의 17세 소녀가 제 90대 미스아메리카가 됐다. 테레사 스캔런은 미국 각 주를 대표한 미녀 52명을 제치고 장학금 5만달러를 받았다.

네브라스카 서쪽 게링에서 고등학교를 갓 졸업한 스캔런은 버지니아 주의 패트릭 헨리 대학에서 미국 정치학을 전공할 예정이다.

한편 테레사에 이어 2위는 미스 아칸소 알리스, 2위는 미스 하와이 제일리 퓨셀리가 선정됐다.
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