Miss Arkansas Savvy Shields won the Miss America pageant Sunday night in Atlantic City.
She topped a field of 52 contestants to win the crown and the title of Miss America 2017, succeeding the outgoing Miss America Betty Cantrell.
Shields performed a jazz dance to a song from the TV show “Smash,” for which she won a preliminary competition earlier in the week.
During the onstage interview portion of the competition, she was asked what she thought of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, one of several political questions asked of the contestants.
“Both of the contestants have done a good job, but they also need to watch what they’re doing,” she said.
The runners-up were as follows: Fourth runner-up, Miss Mississippi Laura Lee Lewis; third runner-up, Miss Washington Alicia Cooper; second runner-up Miss New York Camille Sims (she should have won); first runner up Miss South Carolina Rachel Wyatt.
During the swimsuits competition all the ladies were bouncy, I stayed awake.
The top 15 finalists were: Kentucky; Washington; Massachusetts; Arkansas; South Carolina; Idaho; Iowa; Texas; California; Oklahoma; Maryland; New York; Tennessee; Louisiana, and Mississippi.
The pageant from Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall included contestants from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
The pageant began in Atlantic City in 1921 as a way to extend the summer tourist season beyond Labor Day weekend.