Tippe Emmot is one of those girls who just glows when you meet her in person!  She’s beyond striking – she’s flat out radiant.  Lots of beautiful blonds were on the Miss America stage this year… and Tippe certainly represented ‘The Show Me State’ well!  The Junkies even had the chance to meet her face to face during Miss America week and she was just as ‘sparkling’ in person.

Tippe also finished as the 1st Runner Up in the Miss Sweetheart pageant in Hoopeston, IL back in ’11.  If you don’t know about Miss Sweetheart… just check out this link to one of our previous posts. 🙂

We know Missouri will crown another beauty in Mexico, MO this year… And this year’s pageant will be one of those we’ll be watching closely!  Lots of strong contestants and plenty of ‘experience’ lining up to win it all!   

Junkies Say Here’s Who to Watch:

– Jennifer Zweifel = 1st runner up in 12 (fun fact: she’s an All-American at Truman State where she was 4th in NCAA II in the Triple Jump!)
– Mary Bauer = 4th runner up, triple prelim winner in ’12, 2nd runner up in ’11, prelim talent winner, MO OT in 07
– Shelby Ringdahl = 2nd runner up in ’12
– Adrienne Burlfield = Miss Teen Missouri US ’12 (Top 3 at Nationals), Teen USA semi-finalist
– Jeni Dixon = Miss Missouri Teen USA ’08

MAJ

Big props to the girl with the best name at Miss America… Miss Iowa, Mariah Cary!

We loved Mariah’s genuine reaction each time her name was called to the next level – it was pure ‘shock and awe’ every time she advanced!  The Junkies were sitting next to the group from Iowa in Vegas – and it was SO MUCH FUN to hear them nearly have a heart attack each time she moved forward as well! 🙂

As one of 3 tappers in the top 5, Mariah’s routine was one that showcased her strength and power!  The Junkies also saw Mariah’s routine during the prelims and think she might’ve left out a jump or 2 on Saturday night when her tap shoe broke right before being announced.  Trust us – the girl has the goods and deserved every bit of her 4th runner up finish.

Regarding Miss Iowa 2013, you never need to look at how many contestants there are in Iowa, because they’re almost ALWAYS Quality over Quantity.  We’re convinced this year is no different!

Junkies Say Here’s Who to Watch:

Here’s our picks:
– Taylor Wiebers = 2nd runner up in ’12 (and she has a sassy new haircut!)
– Isabella Blaine = the current Miss Muscatine (same local title as Mariah Cary ’12 and Jessica Pray ’11… could it be 3 in a row?)
– Abby Curtis = 4th runner up in 12
– Katie Cole = Miss Iowa Teen  07 (National American Co-ed)

Junkies Love Iowa!!!  Good Luck Ladies!!! 🙂

MAJ

Alicia Clifton is some kind of awesome… The Junkies saw her win Miss OK in Tulsa back in 2012 and knew she’d be a force at Miss America!  A preliminary talent award win and a 2nd runner up finish at Miss America proved us to be correct!

In fact, Alicia won her preliminary talent award against some super strong competition – it might’ve been one of the toughest Prelim Groups at Miss America in recent history!  If you go back and count, you’ll see 7 of the Top 15 came from Alicia’s prelim group (WOW)!  A junior at the University of Oklahoma, Alicia was Miss Oklahoma’s Outstanding Teen in 2008 before earning the Miss OK title on her third attempt.  

In our humble Junkie opinion, Oklahoma might be the toughest state to win these days… the previous 3 Miss OK winners have finished as the 4th runner up, 1st runner up and 2nd runner up.  AND – with 6 Miss Americas under their belt so far, OK would LOVE to have another and take the lead for the most MA’s from one state (CA and OH both have 6 total Miss Americas as well). We wouldn’t be surprised if Miss OK gets another Miss America within the next 3 years (if not sooner!).  Hence the reason why we referred to them as “The Yankees” of pageants in our post last year – click here to read it for yourself! 🙂
Now!  On to the competitors!

Junkies Say Here’s Who to Watch:

– Sarah Klein = 4th runner up in 12, Top 10 in 11, strong pianist and has ‘the OK look’ in our book
– Georgia Frazier = Miss OK Outstanding Teen 09, super pretty
– Veronica Wisniewski = 2nd runner up in 12, prelim talent and swimsuit winner in 12
– Alex Eppler = 4th runner up in 10 and 11, semi-finalist in 12
– Kelsey Griswold = 1st runner up to Alicia at OK Oustanding Teen in ’08, “Talent Day” winner (which is a big deal in OK)
– Aly Akers = Baton Twirler, prelim talent winner & SF in 12

We honestly could go on and on… there are TONS of girls who could win state titles across the country who are all trying to be Miss Oklahoma.  And if you check out this link, you’ll likely see a picture of Miss Oklahoma 2014, 2015 and 2016 in this group!  Finally, if you ever get the chance to see a state pageant outside of your own state, go to Tulsa and watch Miss OK.  You won’t be sorry. 🙂

Good Luck Ladies!!!

MAJ

Anna Laura’s “P.A.W.S for Autism” lobbied the state and even authored Legislature House bill 502 so children with Autism could have their service dogs next to them in the classroom.  Obviously, the QoL award is significant to the state of Alabama… Which means, if you don’t have a strong platform, don’t bother.  In this state, the full development of your platform means as much as your ability to interview.

Junkies Say Here’s Who to Watch:

– Caitlin Brunell – former Miss America’s Outstanding Teen winner and 3rd runner up in 2012
– Chandler Champion – 2rd runner up in ’12, Swimsuit and Talent Prelim Winner, 3rd runner up in ’11
– Mi’a Callens – AL OT  ’11, 2nd runner up to Elizabeth Fechtel
– Haley Bagwell – 2nd runner up in ’11
– KeLeigh Edwards – 1st runner up in ’11
– Jordan Dailey – 4th runner up in ’11
– Junkies’ Sentimental Favorite = Elisabeth Chramer 🙂

If you’re a football fan, chances are you had already seen Kelsey Fournier before she won the title of Miss Rhode Island 2012…

Kelsey was a Cheerleader for the New England Patriots for 3 years prior to winning the title… We love the fact that Kelsey says she’s now able to have her entire graduate degree in health care education paid for because of her scholarship earnings as Miss Rhode Island!

A little background on the state of RI… In recent years, Rhode Island’s been known for having contestants that excel in one particular area of competition… For example, at Miss America, Allison Rogers (2006) won the Quality of Life Award, Ashley Bickford (2007) won a preliminary swimsuit award, Julianna Strout (2009) was a non-finalist Talent award winner, and Deborah Saint-Vil (2010) was a Talent award winner and Top 15 semi-finalist.  They’re still waiting on their first Miss America.

Now – if we told you there were only 9 girls competing this year at Miss Rhode Island, you might wonder if the competition is going to be any good… Rest Assured, just because they are few in numbers, it doesn’t mean this is going to be a walk in the park for any of the contestants…  

No preliminary competitions – it’s Winner Take All on June 1st!!!

Junkies Say Here’s Who to Watch!
– Jessica Mafeo (center, blue dress) = Miss American Coed competitor, cancer survivor
– Ivy DePew (bottom left) = Semi-finalist in Tennessee, now in grad school at Brown University
– Adriana Roberson (top row, second to the left) = 4th runner up in ’11
– Lindsay Rogers (bottom row, far right) = Rhode Island Outstanding Teen 06

Junkies Love Rhode Island! Good Luck Ladies!!! 🙂

MAJ