Sonya Balmores, 17, a senior at Kaua‘i High School, swept the interview, swimsuit and evening gown competitions on her way to being crowned the 2004 Miss Hawaii Teen USA on O‘ahu last weekend. The daughter of Malana DeSilva and Abraham
Sonya Balmores, 17, a senior at Kaua‘i High School, swept the interview, swimsuit and evening gown competitions on her way to being crowned the 2004 Miss Hawaii Teen USA on O‘ahu last weekend.
The daughter of Malana DeSilva and Abraham Balmores is bound for the national finals in August, at a site on the Mainland to be determined later, said DeSilva.
Malana DeSilva is general manager of the Kauai Coconut Coast Resort at the Beachboy in Waipouli. She is married to Ernest DeSilva.
Abraham Balmores works at Kiahuna Plantation, and is married to Shelagh Balmores. They all live in Kalaheo.
In between preparing for the national pageant, modeling and keeping up with her studies at Kaua‘i High, Sonya Balmores has already accepted a full academic scholarship to attend Hawaii Pacific University on O‘ahu in the fall.
Her agency, Jet Set Management Group, Inc. of La Jolla, Calif., has big plans for the youngster, said former Kauaian Cindy Kauanui, owner of the company.
She has already posed for photos included in this month’s Ready Go magazine out of Japan, and the agency plans national exposure for one of its rising stars in YM, Seventeen, and other youth-oriented magazines, Kauanui said.
Kauaian Sanoe Lake, whose film credits include “Blue Crush,” has been a Jet Set model for many years, according to the firm’s Web site, www.jetsetmodels.com.
Sonya Balmores is a member of Minei Oliver’s Tahitian dance troupe Urahutia.
Her pageant sponsors included Spa Makaiwa (at the Kauai Coconut Coast Resort at the Beachboy), Dr. Terry Carolan, and Nukumoi Surf Company.
Associate Editor Paul C. Curtis may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
