Four new young women were crowned at the 57th Miss Poway Scholarship Pageant on Saturday.
Reigning as Miss Poway for 2019 will be 17-year-old Poway resident Brianne Stark, a senior at Poway High School. Serving on her court will be First Princess Carly Jennings, 17, who attends Del Norte High School and Second Princess Isabel Friedl, 17, also from Del Norte High School.
Miss Teen Poway is 14-year-old Poway resident Ayana Patel, who attends Francis Parker. Her court is First Princess Kayne Collins, 15, from Poway High School and Second Princess Sophia Dahlen, 16, from Mt. Carmel High School.
Miss Junior Teen Poway is 14-year-old Shruti Chari, who is a freshman at Del Norte High School. Her court is First Princess Ellie O'Connell, 13, from Meadowbrook Middle School and Second Princess Tina Khadam, 14, from Westview High School.
This year marked the debut of a new title, Miss Pre-Teen Poway, for girls between 11 and 12 years old. The inaugural Miss Pre-Teen Poway is 11-year-old Poway resident Anastasia Rahall, who is a fifth-grader at St. Michael's School in Poway. Her court is First Princess Cynthia Herman, 12, from Black Mountain Middle School.
Stark said being announced as Miss Poway was a surreal moment. "I wanted to get on the court so much. It's always been a goal of mine, to be named Miss Poway. It's such an honor, just an unbelievable moment."
This is Stark's second pageant. She competed two years ago for the Miss Poway title, as a sophomore, but did not win a title.
"Being in the pageant has been the most rewarding experience," Stark said. "I learned so much on how to present myself well and I gained so much confidence."
This was the first pageant for the other three winners.
"I wanted to meet new people, make an impact on my community and work on my public speaking and leadership," said Patel of why she decided to compete. She added that her mother grew up doing pageants.
Patel said she was very excited and shocked to win. "All the excitement came into my mind at once," she said. "I was overwhelmed, proud of myself and happy. This is a very big deal and I worked hard for it."
Chari said she heard about the pageant from a friend, who spoke highly of the experience. She attended an orientation meeting and, seeing how proud the girls on the court were serving her community, decided to compete.
Winning, she said, felt surreal. "Just hearing my name called, I never felt would even happen," Chari said. "Being around such a talented group, who are so smart and beautiful in their own ways, I never thought I could win. Obviously, it's a dream come true."
Rahall said she loves seeing the Poway Rodeo queens at the Poway Rodeo and wanted to compete in a pageant herself. "I wanted to be just like them," she said.
Rahall said winning felt "so good" and she did not think she would win anything. "Once they called (my name) onstage, I just lost it," she said.
The newly-crowned queens and their courts got to work almost immediately, doing an interview on KUSI the morning after the pageant. They also participated in their first community service event as the 2019 royal court, welcoming guests at the Hats and Heels" fundraising event held Sunday in Carmel Valley, put on by the Poway and North San Diego chapters of Soroptimist International.
The contestants rehearsed for the pageant for nine weeks, learning public speaking skills, resume writing, interview skills, modeling, walking and confidence skills, took a self-defense class and learned about applying makeup via a trip to Ulta.