First Winners Named in Miss America Prelims

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - September 19, 2001 — Miss Oregon, Miss Georgia and Miss West Virginia won in swimsuit, evening wear and talent Tuesday as preliminary competition got under way in the 81st annual Miss America Pageant.

The nationally televised pageant finals are scheduled for Saturday. The 51 contestants will compete again on Wednesday and Thursday nights, but Miss America 2002 won`t be crowned until Saturday.

Miss Oregon Katie Harman, 21, of Gresham, Ore., sang "O Mio Babbino Caro," a Puccini aria, to beat out 16 other women in the first of three nights of talent competition. The victory comes with an $8,000 scholarship for Harman, a speech communications major at Portland State University.

Miss Georgia Emily Foster, 23, of Cornelia, Ga., won a $3,000 scholarship for her victory in swimsuit, which this year is being called "lifestyle and fitness." Miss West Virginia Danae DeMasi, 20, of Morgantown, W.Va., also won a $3,000 scholarship for her victory in evening wear, now known as the "presence and poise competition." Miss District of Columbia Marshawn Evans, 22, of Arlington, Va., won for "presentation and community achievement," the new name for the judges interview portion of the competition. The interviews were conducted privately Tuesday by judges. Evans won a $6,000 scholarship. Security was tight for Tuesday's preliminary show, which started 45 minutes late because of long delays at the entrances to Boardwalk Hall. Security guards using hand-held metal detectors scanned each person who entered, causing a 900-person backup onto the Boardwalk.

A bomb-sniffing dog also was on hand.

The beefed-up security measures were implemented in the wake of last week`s terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

"If I have to wait a little bit longer to make sure it's safe, that`s fine with me," said Stacy Margolin, 35, of Garden Grove, Calif., who waited in line for 30 minutes before she was admitted.

(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: 6 ABC - Action News