LIHUE — There she is, Miss Kauai. And Miss Teen Kauai, too. Both were crowned Sunday during the inaugural Miss Hawaii USA preliminary pageant, which earned both young women a free entry into the state competition on Oahu this fall.
LIHUE — There she is, Miss Kauai.
And Miss Teen Kauai, too.
Both were crowned Sunday during the inaugural Miss Hawaii USA preliminary pageant, which earned both young women a free entry into the state competition on Oahu this fall.
“I was so excited because I was so honored I got to be the first Miss Kauai USA,” said Liane Ancajas, who earned the Miss Garden Isle crown in 2012 before Sunday’s victory at the Kauai Community Performing Arts Center.
The pageant was started as a way to help neighbor island contestants earn easier access to the Miss Hawaii competition in Honolulu Nov. 22-23. The contestants were judged in interview, swimsuit and evening gown categories. The win will pay for their entries into Miss Hawaii USA.
“It is definitely nerve-racking even though you do prepare for it,” said Ancajas, who graduated from Kahili Adventist School in Koloa in 2006 before earning a entrepreneurship degree from the University of Hawaii in 2012 and now lives on Oahu.
Now that she’s advanced to the big stage?
More nerves, she said.
“Even today, I’ve been thinking of all the things I need to get together for Miss Hawaii this November: fitness, sponsors, wardrobes,” she said. “I’ve never been a part of the Miss Universe organization before so this will definitely be a cool experience for me.”
Giana Riopta earned the Miss Hawaii Teen USA crown. The 13-year-old eighth-grade student at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School will also be traveling to Honolulu.
“I was really surprised and shocked. I was the youngest in my category,” she said. “Just to see everyone clapping and cheering for me was really a great feeling and I was really surprised.”
She said she is both excited and nervous as she prepares for the state event, but knows there’s a lot of work ahead.
It will be “a lot of fundraising, a lot of practice, walking in heels and getting to know people,” she said.
