MANSFIELD — Cassandra Kurek sang her way to win the overall talent award and the Miss Ohio’s Outstanding Teen crown on Wednesday night.
Along with a ticket to the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen pageant in August, Kurek won $2,750 in scholarships.
The Bucyrus native has been performing in musical theatre since she was six years old, and wowed the judges with her rendition of “Think of Me” from Phantom of the Opera.
Kurek’s social impact initiative, L.O.V.E. (Loving Ourselves and Verifying We’re Enough), focuses on building self esteem and positive body image among youth. Kurek was proud to share her message during the on-stage question where she got to dive deeper into the work that has gone into her initiative.
Kurek was candidate number nine out of 10 and competed as Miss Greater Cleveland’s Outstanding Teen.
Lucabella Laeace, Miss Heart of Ohio’s Outstanding Teen, placed first runner-up and won the overall interview award. Meggan Hitchens, Miss Portsmouth’s Outstanding Teen, placed second runner-up and won the first-ever “Love like Payton” award in honor of former Miss Ohio’s Outstanding Teen contestant Payton Jones.
Laece walked away with $1,250 in scholarship, and Hitchens with $1,050.
Laece was also the first runner-up in last year’s competition. Meanwhile, Hitchens is the youngest of four sisters who have competed in both Miss Ohio’s Outstanding Teen and Miss Ohio for years.
No candidate walked away empty-handed from Wednesday’s competition. In recognition of their dedication and hard work, all seven of the non-finalists won $300 in scholarship.
As the “little sister” to the Miss Ohio program, the Miss Ohio’s Outstanding Teen Scholarship Program was created to encourage teens to pursue scholastic achievement, community service opportunities and an active lifestyle.
