Miss Arkansas Savvy Shields Steals the Show and Crown for Miss America

Savvy+Shields+finally+received+her+well-earned+crown+after+all+of+her+hard+work+in+this+competition.+This+photo+was+taken+by+Noah+K.+Murray+from+the+U.S.+News+Associated+Press%2C+in+Atlantic+City.

Savvy Shields finally received her well-earned crown after all of her hard work in this competition. This photo was taken by Noah K. Murray from the U.S. News Associated Press, in Atlantic City.

Lauryn Almand, Staff Writer

On Sept. 11, 2016 in Atlantic City, NJ 52 contestants came together to compete for the ultimate crown at the Miss America Pageant. Savvy Shields from Arkansas impressed the crowd by performing a jazz dance to a song from the show “Smash” for the talent portion. She had previously used this act to win a preliminary competition earlier in the week.

Shields topped a field of 52 talented and experienced contestants to win this competition. The following is a list of the Runner Up contestants in order shown: Fourth runner up-  Miss Mississippi Laura Lee Lewis, Third runner up- Miss Washington Alicia Cooper, Second runner up- Miss New York Camille Sims, and our First runner up- Miss South Carolina Rachel Wyatt.

The Miss America Pageant began in 1921 and was primarily purposed to extended summer tourist action following Labor Day weekend.