Winners of night two of preliminary competition include Miss La Crosse-Oktoberfest, Miss South Central and Miss Rock River Valley.
Brandon ReidOshkosh Northwestern
OSHKOSH – Thursday marked the final night of preliminary competition in the 2023 Miss Wisconsin Competition.
The evening ended with Miss La Crosse-Oktoberfest, Zoe de Boer, winning the Talent Award and Miss South Central, Lila Szyryj, and Miss Rock River Valley, Mandi Genord, tying for the Evening Wear preliminary award.
On the first night of preliminary competition Wednesday, Szyryj earned the Talent Award for "Revolutionary Étude" by Frederic Chopin on the piano and Miss Madison Paige Eide won the Evening Wear preliminary award.
All preliminary winners earned scholarships.
De Boer, 24, a resident of Onalaska, sang “All That Matters” from “Finding Neverland” for her talent presentation, taking home a $500 scholarship. She is a graduate student at Viterbo University studying religious studies and theology with a master’s of servant leadership.
Szyryj, 21, a resident of Madison, is a graduate of UW-Madison, where she earned a degree in journalism and mass communication. Genord, 21, is from Montello and is a junior at the University of Alabama studying dance, political science and communication studies working toward pre-law. They were awarded a $250 scholarship.
Miss Wisconsin preliminary winners: Miss Wisconsin names preliminary winners in talent, evening wear after night one of competition
Miss Wisconsin 2023 finals are Saturday while Miss Wisconsin's Teen finals are Friday
Saturday, the top 11 candidates will be named and will re-compete in all onstage phases of competition — Talent, Evening Gown, and Lifestyle and Fitness — to determine who will win the title of Miss Wisconsin 2023 and advance to the Miss America Competition.
Tickets are still available for the Miss Wisconsin Final Competition on Saturday as well as the Miss Wisconsin’s Outstanding Teen Competition Friday. Both are at Oshkosh West High School's Alberta Kimball Civic Auditorium, 375 N. Eagle St., in Oshkosh. Saturday's competition starts at 4 p.m. while Friday's starts at 7:30 p.m. Livestream tickets are also available for both competitions. For more details and to purchase tickets, go to misswisconsin.com.
This year marks the 60th year the state pageant moved to Oshkosh in 1963 after four years in Kenosha. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no state pageant in 2020. All contestants chosen then waited to compete in the 2021 Miss Wisconsin pageant.
The new Miss Wisconsin will be selected on Saturday and will be crowned by Miss Wisconsin 2022, Kylene Elizabeth Spanbauer of Fond du Lac, who was last year’s state first runner-up. She assumed the state title on Dec. 26 after then-Miss Wisconsin, Grace Marie Stanke of Wausau, was named as Wisconsin’s third Miss America winner in Uncasville, Connecticut on Dec. 16, 2022. Stanke will crown her successor in December or January.
The teenager chosen as Miss Wisconsin’s Teen 2023 on Friday will be crowned by last year’s Miss Oshkosh’s Teen and Miss Wisconsin’s Teen 2022, Evelyn Rose Green of Oshkosh. The 2023 national teen competition will be in December or January 2024.
Kylene Spanbauer crowned Miss Wisconsin: Kylene Spanbauer named Miss Wisconsin 2022 after Grace Stanke crowned Miss America
25 women vying for Miss Wisconsin 2023
Here are the 25 women competing for the title of Miss Wisconsin 2023:
- Miss Beloit, Angelica Perlie Chapman-Skyes of Beloit;
- Miss Door County, Lindsay Schuh of Sturgeon Bay;
- Miss Fond du Lac, Victoria (Tori) Smith of Waupun;
- Miss Great Lakes, Jenna Lee Jane Zeihan of Kenosha;
- Miss Green Bay Area, Brooklyn M. Heyn of Appleton;
- Miss Harbor Cities, Gabriella Elena Premus of Appleton/Webster, South Dakota;
- Miss Kenosha, Willow Ybre Newell of Racine;
- Miss La Crosse/Oktoberfest, Zoe Olivia de Boer of Onalaska,
- Miss Madison, Paige Alexis Eide of La Crosse;
- Miss Milwaukee, Abby Michelle Miller of Beloit;
- Miss New Berlin, Glorian Jo Konieczny of Muskego;
- Miss Onalaska, Emma Louise Booth ofEau Claire/La Crescent, Minnesota;
- Miss Oshkosh, Taylor N. Swanson of Wisconsin Rapids;
- Miss Racine, Margret Isabelle Hinze of Racine;
- Miss Red Granite, Jordenne Demiree Buttler of Onalaska;
- Miss Rock River Valley, Mandi J. Genord of Montello;
- Miss South Central, Lila Hui Szyryj of Madison;
- Miss Sparta, Ellie Marie Eswein of Tomah;
- Miss Saint Francis, Megan Krowski of Saint Francis;
- Miss Stevens Point, Allison L. Wisinski of Stevens Point;
- Miss Sugar Maple, Sarah Mackenzie Dahdouh of Madison/Union City, California;
- Miss West Allis, Jasmine Katherine Peck of Saint Francis;
- Miss Western Wisconsin, Emily Ann Phillips of Sparta;
- Miss Wisconsin Rapids, Maria Hartley; and
- Miss Wood Violet, Rosie Miliacca of Oak Creek.
The women won local or state open competitions around Wisconsin starting in June 2022 to March 2023. Miller, Phillips and Wisinski each applied for and were awarded their titles on March 28 during a first-time sponsor appointment process. Four of the entrants — Zeihen, Butler, Dahdouh and Miliacca — won their titles at the seventh annual Miss Wisconsin Sweeps state at-large pageant March 26 in Racine.
Swanson, the host city representative, is a senior psychology major at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. The cello-playing contestant won her city title on her first attempt on March 4. Her older sister, Ryann Nicole Swanson, competed for Miss Wisconsin in 2017 (as Miss Wisconsin Rapids) and in 2018 (as Miss Northern Lights).
19 teens competing for Miss Wisconsin's Teen
For the 18th year, Oshkosh will play host to the annual Miss Wisconsin’s Teen (formerly Miss Wisconsin’s Outstanding Teen) state pageant competition. The state teen event has been held each year since 2005 with the exception of the 2020 cancellation because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The teen participants this year include the following:
- Miss Beloit’s Teen, Tre-Anna Metzger of Beloit;
- Miss Crossing River’s Teen, Trinity Horstman of Onalaska;
- Miss Door County’s Teen, Kalei Klaubauf of Sturgeon Bay;
- Miss Fond du Lac’s Teen, Naomi Oches of Plymouth;
- Miss Foot of the Lake’s Teen, Alexis Ulrich;
- Miss Fox Cites’ Teen, Jayden Dalton of Omro;
- Miss Great Lakes’ Teen, Etta Tidd of Kenosha;
- Miss Green Bay Area’s Teen, Morgan Eberhardt of Green Bay;
- Miss Harbor Cities’ Teen, Natalie Popp of Fitchburg;
- Miss Madison’s Teen, Elise Tomashek of Onalaska;
- Miss New Berlin’s Teen, Addison Strunz of Prairie du Sac;
- Miss Onalaska’s Teen, Keira M. Dorado of West Salem;
- Miss Oshkosh’s Teen Madelyn Rutkowski of Oshkosh;
- Miss Rock County’s Teen, Kellyse Lutzow of Beloit;
- Miss South Central’s Teen, Samantha J. Tuchscherer of Larsen;
- Miss Sparta’s Teen, Grace Giraud of Sparta;
- Miss Saint Francis’ Teen, Carra Kleczka of Saint Francis;
- Miss West Allis’s Teen, Carly Doome of Oak Creek; and
- Miss Wisconsin Rapids’ Teen, Ruby Marti of Wisconsin Rapids.
Rutkowski, an accomplished baton twirler, won the Oshkosh teen crown on March 4 and will attempt to become the second consecutive Miss Oshkosh’s Teen to win the state teen honors.
Contact Brandon Reid at 920-686-2984 orbreid@gannett.com. Follow himon Twitter at@breidHTRNews.
