Nearly a dozen young women will compete for two different crowns in a yearly pageant whose winners will have the chance to compete for the Miss California Crown, and potentially to be named Miss America.
The Miss Merced County pageant is 6 p.m. Jan. 27 at Golden Valley High School, 2121 E. Childs Ave. in Merced.
Six young women will face off for the Miss Merced County crown and five are vying for the Miss Merced County Outstanding Teen tiara. The 40-year tradition provides scholarships to competitors from age 13 to 24, according to the organization’s website.
The pageant is hosted by Sara Sandrik, an Emmy Award-winning former TV journalist, and Nicolette Schiber, the 2013 winner of Miss Merced County.
The Miss Merced County contestants are:
Sydni Crane, a 17-year-old Merced High School senior, is running on a platform of the awareness for stray animals and shelters, according to a news release. She’ll perform a monologue during the talent portion.
Merced High School senior Maya Garcia is running on a platform of “Action for Healthy Kids, the release said. The 17-year-old will perform a dance.
Angela Matthews is a 17-year-old El Capitan High School senior, according to the news release. Her platform is on keeping the arts in education, and she’ll perform a dance.
Chelsie Muro is running on a “Strength in Numbers” platform, the release said. The 19-year-old sophomore at California State University, Stanislaus, plans to perform a monologue.
Eighteen-year-old Cassandra Valdez, a senior at Merced High School, has a platform of “My Job Depends on Agriculture,” the release said. She’ll perform a monologue.
Merced High senior Elizabeth Webster, 18, is running on a platform of deaf awareness. Sign Language is her talent.
The Miss Merced County Outstanding Teen competitors are:
Stoneridge Christian High School freshman Elise Brown’s platform is “Feeling Safe and Loved, Foster Parents Needed,” the release said. The 14-year-old plans a vocal talent.
Marlo Carpenter, 15, an El Capitan High School sophomore, is running on a depression awareness platform, the release said. She plans a a vocal talent.
Sixteen-year-old Olivia Ledesma is a Buhach Colony High School junior, according to the release. She plans a monologue and is running on the platform “Encouraging Young Women Into Sports.”
Nadia Sanchez, a 13-year-old Hilmar Middle School student, is running on a platform of awareness for owners to spay and neuter pets, the release said. The eighth-grader will perform a dance.
Atwater High’s Jillian Stewart, a 16-year-old sophomore, plans to perform a vocal number, the release said. Her platform is “Keeping Arts in School.”
For more, go to www.missmercedcounty.org.
*This story has been corrected from an earlier version.
This story was originally published January 18, 2018 4:22 PM.