Stingel Elementary students become first Little & Junior Miss Ontario

ONTARIO — Breckelle Miller has built a resume of award-winning singing and ventriloquism that she has showcased on international stages.

And yet nothing compared to the feeling of winning the title of 2023 Little Miss Ontario on Friday.

“I felt really excited like I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life,” the 8-year-old said.

Breckelle’s mom, Kimberly Yeager-Miller, said the Little Miss Ontario pageant was special to Breckelle because she spent the day with her friends.

“She won the Ohio Cinderella Miniature Miss competition last year, but she’s really excited about Little Miss Ontario because she can represent her hometown and school,” Yeager-Miller said.

“We were so thrilled when she won and extremely proud of her hard work and determination when she set her sights on a goal.”

Breckelle is the first Little Miss Ontario, a program that was added this year along with Junior Miss Ontario.

“We are very excited about the new girls crowned this year and thought it was a great opportunity to get kids involved in the community and express themselves,” said Eddie Gallo, executive director of the Miss Ontario pageant programs.

Gallo — who also serves as president of Ontario City Council — runs the pageant programs with his daughter Gianna Gallo, who was Miss Ontario in 2018.

“We’re thinking about adding a middle school competition next year so we can get all age groups involved from first grade through high school,” Eddie Gallo said. “And the high school program gives them the opportunity to earn scholarships.”

The Little and Junior Miss Ontario competitions were judged by Mansfield mayoral candidate Jodie Perry, 2017 Miss Ohio Leah Gombosch and WMFD personality Chelley Kemper. 

The first Junior Miss Ontario was 9-year-old Rylee Schoonover; Little Miss Ontario runner-up is Hadley West and Junior Miss Ontario runner-up is Aryanna Estrada.

Little Miss Ontario was open for girls going into first or second grade and Junior Miss Ontario was open for girls going into third through fifth grade.

Contestants were judged on stage presence/ poise, stage questions and outfits. The outfits included theme wear (red, white and blue) and beauty wear (favorite dress).

Rylee Schoonover is going into the 4th grade at Stingel Elementary School and had never competed in pageants before Friday.

“I was inspired to do this pageant because I have always dreamed of being Miss Ontario, and I was excited when they opened up to Little and Junior Miss Ontario,” Rylee said.

Rylee’s mother Megan Schoonover said multiple family members came to support her at the Ontario High School auditorium.

“My name was called and I saw my dad jump up and cheer for me,” Rylee said.

The 9-year-old said her favorite part of the pageant was posing for the judges. She said she loves to sing and dance and is excited to represent the city of Ontario this year.

Breckelle and Rylee will participate in the 4th of July Festival parade with the 2023 Miss Ontario Jaslyn Lopez.

Breckelle sang the national anthem at last year’s 4th of July Festival.

“The best part was that I got to stay up way past my bedtime,” she said.

Breckelle will compete at the International Ventriloquist Convention kids competition in July with her unicorn puppet STARLA. She will also make appearances around town as Little Miss Ontario.

“I’m excited to spend all this year with my sister queens,” Breckelle said. “I want to make lots of friends this year and be a role model to others.”