Thursday brings the last of 3 rounds of preliminary competition to the Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas with the 53 contestants split into 3 groups rotating nightly between On-Stage Question, Lifestyle and Fitness…still swimsuit to most people…and Talent.

Miss Nebraska Mariah Cook of Chadron, Miss Wyoming Lexie Madden of Torrington, and Miss South Dakota Calista Kirby…who was a cheerleader for 3 years at the University of Nebraska…are all in the same group…the Mu group…and have their talent competition.  Cook and Madden will offer piano solos while has Kirby a tumbling routine.

The trio competed in Lifestyle and Fitness Wednesday night, but honors in the event went to Miss Illinois Megan Evrin…whose victory brought with it a $1,000 scholarship. The preliminary Talent winner was Miss Maryland Joanna Guy, whose vocal solo of I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miz brought a $2,000 scholarship.

Friday is an off-day from competition, although the contestants still have a full day of activities. The finals are Saturday night…broadcast on ABC. It’s live in the Eastern and Central time zones, tape-delayed to 8 pm in the Mountain Time Zone.