On her 3rd trip to Miss Iowa, and right before she aged out, Cathy Lemkau was thrilled to win her state title! But her happiness quickly came to an end when the judges told her that she would be in the bottom 25 at Miss America. What in the world did she do to go from “the bottom 25” in those judges’ minds, to being a double prelim winner and 1st Runner Up at Miss America??? Let’s just say, this podcast is killer. Listen and learn… There’s crazy amounts of wisdom inside…
Today we kick off our “Summer Throwback Series” featuring titleholders from the 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s! We’re thrilled to start this series with Tricia Leines Pine, Miss Oregon 1996 and 2nd Runner up to Miss America! In today’s Pageant Junkies Podcast, Tricia does a marvelous job of describing the “give and take” that happens as you enter a major competition… She says, although it’s important to prepare as much as possible, you also have to “surrender the outcome.” What does that mean? PLENTY! You don’t want to miss a minute of today’s podcast!
Inside this post, you’ll see all of our predictions and the results from last year’s MAOTeen competition.
I can already hear you asking… “Will you be making predictions for Miss America’s Outstanding Teen this year too???”
The answer is… YES!!!
If you’d like to see our predictions for MAOTeen 2017, they’re available through Pageant Junkies Premium (click here to learn more)…
Fair Warning – Pageant Junkies Premium is also where we’ll be posting our predictions for MISS AMERICA 2017!!! SOOOO – If you wanna know who’s on our predictions list, you’ll need to go to Pageant Junkies Premium to sign up!
One more thing – I’ll be in Orlando to watch MAOTeen starting Wednesday night – If you’re going to be there, I’d LOVE to meet you! Chatting directly with folks inside the Junkie Nation is one of my favorite things to do – so honestly, if you see me, or if you hear me, or whatever – Please come by and say Hello!!!
I can’t wait to see who’s going to be crowned the new Miss America’s Outstanding Teen 2017!!! GOOD LUCK LADIES!!! 
OK! Here’s the full breakdown of our predictions from last year, starting with the first prelim predictions at the top and the final results at the bottom! Enjoy!!!
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The 10th annual Miss America’s Outstanding Teen pageant is happening right now in Orlando, FL! Last year was the first year Junkies predicted MAOTeen – and for some reason, we’re crazy enough to do it again this year! You can read last year’s predictions at this link. Then, check out our predictions for tonight’s prelim competition in the space below! GOOD LUCK LADIES!!!
Here we go! Here’s your Tuesday Pageant Junkies Prelim Picks for MAOTeen! If you’re new to the Junkie Nation and haven’t seen how we do this, please check out this link to get a better understanding. 🙂
OK – Tonight we have the Red Group in Evening Wear/On-Stage Question and the White Group in Talent! Without further adieu, our picks are…
EVENING WEAR/OSQ = Florida, Iowa, Georgia, Kentucky
TALENT = Nebraska, Oklahoma, North Carolina, New Jersey
And there you have it! Don’t forget ladies (and parents of OT contestants), if we said your name, we hope you prove us right! And if we don’t say your name, WE HOPE YOU PROVE US WRONG!!! Good Luck Ladies!
#BigJunkieLove
Carrie Lakey
Big Junkie Congrats go out to our prelim winners from last night!
NEW JERSEY OT Shereen Pimentel = Prelim Talent
ARIZONA OT Jessi Gradillas = Prelim Evening Wear
CONGRATS LADIES!!!
WHOOOO HOOOOOO!!! Junkies go 50/50 with our predictions for Tuesday Night… We correctly identified NJ OT, but missed AZ OT (Although, if you were in the Junkie household yesterday, you would’ve seen us AGONIZING over about 6 different girls for the Evening Wear Prelim… And yes, AZ was one of them). But alas, “close” doesn’t count in this game! It’s all or nothing, baby!
So – Tonight we have the White Group in Evening Wear/On-Stage Question and the Blue Group in Talent! And once again, it’s time for our predictions! Let’s take a look!
EVENING WEAR/OSQ = Utah, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Indiana
TALENT = Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, Nevada
For the record – Talent is TOUGH tonight! AND – Junkies will be there LIVE for the Wednesday Night Prelim Performance! CAN’T WAIT!!!
As always, please remember – If we said your name, we hope you prove us right! And if we don’t say your name, WE HOPE YOU PROVE US WRONG!!! Good Luck Ladies!
#BigJunkieLove
Carrie Lakey
Big Junkie Congrats go out to our prelim winners from last night!
ARKANSAS OT Gracie Stover = Prelim Talent
NEW HAMPSHIRE OT Allie Nault = Prelim Evening Wear
CONGRATS LADIES!!!
OH. MY. GOODNESS. GRACIOUS. If there were words to explain HOW MUCH FUN it was to meet sooooooo many Junkies last night, I would use them!!! What a GREAT evening at MAOTeen! The Junkie Nation truly is a special group of people and I was THRILLED to meet so many of you last night!
Now – Let’s talk about last night’s prelim winners! For the first time since 2009, Junkies go 0-2 in our predictions (although technically, we were predicting Miss America 2009 – Not MAOTeen 2009 – just to clarify).
AR OT had amazing energy in her tap routine to a Michael Jackson medley… She had the high score on my personal ballot last night! NH OT was gorgeous in a lovely yellow gown and super calm during her OSQ. Very articulate and genuine! Both awards were well deserved! CONGRATS AGAIN LADIES!
Now – on to tonight’s competition! Tonight, it’s the Red Group in Talent and the Blue Group in Evening Wear/OSQ. We’re hoping to redeem ourselves with tonight’s predictions – but considering we missed both winners last night, who knows if we’ll come close tonight or not?!? OK – here we go…
EVENING WEAR/OSQ = South Carolina, Texas, Washington, California
TALENT = New York, Florida, Iowa, Arizona
And there you have it!!! And – as evidenced last night, Junkies are NOT perfect! Anyone could take the prelim awards tonight! We just want to see each young woman do her very best and rise to the full level of her “pageant potential” 🙂 That’s why we always say…
LADIES, if we said your name, we hope you prove us right! And if we don’t say your name, WE HOPE YOU PROVE US WRONG!!! Good Luck Everyone!!!
#BigJunkieLove
Carrie Lakey
Big Junkie Congrats go out to our prelim winners from last night!
ARIZONA OT Jessi Gradillas = Prelim Talent
SOUTH CAROLINA OT Sarah Hamrick = Prelim Evening Wear
CONGRATS LADIES!!!
Well there you have it! The preliminary competition for Miss America’s Outstanding Teen 2016 is complete – and we’ve been BLOWN AWAY by the caliber of this year’s contestants! Somehow, someway, the judges will have to choose a winner tomorrow night.
So – After starting 1/3 (ugh!!), we picked both winners tonight and ended up 3/6 this year… That’s pretty much the “bare minimum” we expect from ourselves. Anything less and I’d feel somewhat obligated to turn in my “junkie card” which would be pretty embarrassing in the middle of an event like this!
Congrats again to Jessi in AZ for her Talent win (she has a real “indie” vibe to her voice – she kinda sounds like Jewel) and Sarah in SC for her Evening Wear win (her gown was PINK PERFECTION and she nailed her question).
The final show starts at 6pm EST on Saturday, and we WILL be making our picks for the Top 10 and the Top 5! YAY!
Between now and then – make sure you’re following all our social media channels – INCLUDING PERISCOPE! We periscoped (is that even a word?) for the first time tonight and I plan to do the Top 10 and final 5 on Saturday night as well! Follow us at PageantJunkies on Periscope asap and you’ll feel like you’re in the audience with me!
Oh – and before I finish – please know that OLIVIA McMILLAN ROCKS!!! She did a dramatic version of “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” and it was SPECTACULAR!!! In addition, she’s been answering questions on stage all week during a brief “interview time” and she’s been incredibly well-spoken and engaging… What a fantastic representative she’s been this year! Can’t wait to watch her blossom into the full blessing of her gifts and talents!!!
So – keep your eyes our for our Saturday newsletter! CAN’T WAIT to see who is crowned Miss America’s Outstanding Teen 2016!!!
#BigJunkieLove
Carrie Lakey
HI JUNKIES!!! I can hardly believe this day has already come – Seems like I just got here! 🙂
Before I get to my predictions, I just wanna say a HUGE THANK YOU to those of you who’ve taken the time to stop me and “say hello” this week – It’s been amazing to meet people from the Junkie Nation and to hear your stories about how much you enjoy what we’re doing! I’ve never laughed so hard in four days!!! I’ve had SO MUCH FUN and I’m absolutely overwhelmed by your support! #JunkiesRock
Now, regarding predictions – here’s how this works…
I’m choosing a Top 10, then 5 more “bubble” contestants (states who are “on the bubble” in my eyes and could make the Top 10) and finally, I’ve listed a Top 5 as well (like we do for all the state pageants).
If this is your first time here, please know this is just for fun. I’m certainly NOT an expert on all-things Teen – I only started making Teen predictions last year! Even I’m curious to see how my predictions play out tonight!
So – without further adieu… HERE WE GO!
Junkies Top 10
North Carolina, Indiana, Florida, Arizona, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Arkansas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
Bubbles That Could Also Make It
Nebraska, Texas, Georgia, New York, Massachusetts
Junkies Top 5
Arkansas, South Carolina, Arizona, Oklahoma, New Hampshire
And there you have it! Stay tuned to Pageant Junkies on social media for tonight’s results – Join us on Twitter or Periscope for immediate results (@PageantJunkies), and of course, Facebook and Instagram for final results as well!
OK! By now, you guys all know the drill… So let’s all stand, place your right hand on your favorite rhinestone-studded, super-sparkly item, and repeat it with me:
LADIES – If we said your name today, we hope you prove us right. And if we don’t say your name, WE HOPE YOU PROVE US WRONG!!!
GOOD LUCK to EVERYONE tonight at MAOTeen!!!
#BigJunkieLove
Carrie Lakey
AHHHHHH!!! Last night’s show was phenomenal – culminating with the crowning of Miss America’s Outstanding Teen 2016, ALLIE NAULT!!! Big Junkie Congrats to #TeamNewHampshire on your first National Title – I know Allie is going to make all of us proud!
In case you missed it, here’s a quick run-down of results!
People’s Choice – Nevada
Top 9 – South Carolina, New Hampshire, Indiana, Arizona, Georgia, New Jersey, Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma
4th RU – Oklahoma, Carrigan Bradley
3rd RU – Arizona, Jessi Gradillas
2nd RU – Indiana, Audrey Ferguson
1st RU – Texas, Addy Jackson
Winner – New Hampshire, Allie Nault
Several Additional Awards were given…
Special Dancer Awards – Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Arkansas (based on highest prelim scores)
Outstanding Vocalist – New Jersey
Outstanding Instrumentalists – Virginia and Iowa
Non-Finalist Interview – New York
Congeniality (“Spirit Award”) – New York
Teens in Action (Community Service) – New Hampshire
Non-Finalist Gown/OSQ – Arkansas
In the end, Junkies picked 3 of the Top 5 including the winner… We also picked 6 of the Top 9… And although we didn’t pick TX, NE and GA, those ladies were all included in our “bubble” list. We were THRILLED with those results and so pleased to see all the young women perform at their best last night! CONGRATS to EVERYONE who competed at MAOTeen – We know this experience will be one that you never forget!!!
A couple of additional highlights from the night include Olivia McMillian singing “Opportunities” from 2014’s new “foster care version” of the movie Annie. She sings soooooo beautifully – and is so lost in the moment that she gets emotional near the end… I was crying right along with her!!! Check out the video at this link. Words really can’t describe her… She’s simply phenomenal…
Before I close, I just want to reiterate how AMAZING it was to meet so many Junkies in Orlando. Sometimes I would speak, and folks who listen to the podcast would stop and say, “Are you Carrie Lakey?” (LOL! I guess my voice is like a virtual business card!), Sometimes I would introduce myself and girls would offer a huge smile with wide eyes and give me a great big hug! Overall, it was undoubtedly, one of the warmest receptions I’ve ever received and I can’t begin to thank you enough! You are the reason why I started Pageant Junkies – and I will be forever grateful for the fast friendships I formed in Orlando! 🙂
Now – before I start to cry from the overwhelming emotion and serious lack of sleep, let me remind everyone that MISS AMERICA is coming up FAST!!! The competition begins in just 5 weeks – and we’ve got A LOT of work to do if we’re going to keep giving you great predictions!
In the meantime, we hope you’re polishing your list as well! Predicting pageant preliminary winners is more fun when lots of Junkies play along! So start your research today – make your lists and check ’em twice! It’s never too early to prepare for the most iconic and revered competition in Pageant Junkie-dom… Next stop – MISS AMERICA!!!
#BigJunkieLove
Carrie Lakey
In the pageant world, every time you fall short of your goal, it’s easy to see that experience as “a failure”. But Taylor Kinzler, Miss Massachusetts 2012 says, “You can’t count mistakes or missed opportunities as failures – you have to count them as opportunities to grow.” It’s so true – No wonder Taylor was Miss Mass OT 2008 and a non-finalist Talent award winner at Miss America! 🙂 Catch her full list of “failures” and how she chose to use those experiences as opportunities to grow, on today’s Pageant Junkies Podcast.
When you win your state’s Outstanding Teen title at the age of 13, you might think the rest of your pageant career is going to be a piece of cake! But the truth is, becoming Miss Pennsylvania was not an easy process for Annie Rosellini. Find out what she kept repeating to herself during pageant week – and what her father told her that still sticks with her to this day – on today’s Pageant Junkies Podcast.