Young women from Alliance and North Platte claimed the titles Sunday at the 22nd annual Miss Chadron/Miss Northwest Scholarship Pageant in Chadron.
Crowned as Miss Northwest was 22-year old Megan Dimmitt of Alliance, while the title of Miss Northwest went to 18-year old Meghan Thalken of North Platte.
Both now advance to the Miss Nebraska Pageant next June in North Platte. They each also receive a one-year tuition waiver to Chadron State College.
Runner-up to both titles was 21-year old Samantha Green of Cheyenne, a Chadron State elementary education junior, while the youngest of the 11 contestants, 17-year old Chadron High School senior Kodi Baumann of Chadron, was Miss Congeniality.
This will be the third trip to Miss Nebraska for Dimmitt, a senior in criminal justice at Chadron State. Despite that experience, the new Miss Northwest says waiting to hear the names called wasn’t any easier on her nerves than it was at her first pageant.
But while being a pageant veteran didn’t make the waiting any easier, Dimmitt, a pianist, says being a Miss Nebraska contestant for the third time will be an advantage next summer.
If Megan Dimmitt had a bad case of nerves before hearing her name called as Miss Northwest, things were even worse for Meghan Thalken because pageant co-host Shawn Banzhaf had accidentally skipped over announcing the interview winner … delaying the announcement of Miss Chadron.
She says the wait was “really nerve-wracking” and that she “was dying up there” during, but that it was “absolute incredible” when her name was called and that she’s excited to representing Chadron for the next year.
Thalken, who performed a jazz dance for her talent, not only lives in North Platte but also attends North Platte Community College. She insists she’s going to make the 400-plus mile round trip to Chadron as often as possible over the next year to appear as Miss Chadron.
Thalken won the eveningwear category and shared the talent event with Dimmitt and the swimsuit/physical fitness award with Green.
Honors in interview went to 21-year old Adrian Jochum of Sutherland, a junior in nursing at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.