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10/09/2017
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Updated on September 9, 2017 at 12:27 AM Posted on September 8, 2017 at 10:19 PM
By Amy Kuperinsky akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Miss Louisiana jumped to the head of the pack at the 2018 Miss America pageant in Atlantic City on Friday, winning raves from the judges for her ventriloquist routine, just a day after she won the swimsuit competition in the preliminary round at Boardwalk Hall.
Laryssa Bonacquisti, 22, of Monroe, Louisiana, charmed the audience with her dummies Lucky and Lucy, singing the 1935 song "I Wanna Be A Cowboy's Sweetheart" by the yodeling Patsy Montana to win a $2,000 scholarship for talent.
After the pageant, Bonacquisti, whose mother, Lynette Falls Bonacquisti, was Miss New Jersey 1990, said she started learning ventriloquism at just 6 years old. She's currently studying broadcast journalism at Louisiana State University.
Laryssa Bonacquisti, at left, and Sara Zeng, at right, won awards in the last night of preliminary competition at Miss America. (Tim Hawk | For NJ.com)
Laryssa Bonacquisti, at left, and Sara Zeng, at right, won awards in the last night of preliminary competition at Miss America. (Tim Hawk | For NJ.com)
And Sara Zeng, Miss Florida, proved prescient when she spoke with NJ Advance Media Friday afternoon ahead of her turn to do the swimsuit strut on the last night of preliminary competition.
"I love modeling," she said. "It's always been a hobby of mine."
She was the first contestant of the night to saunter down the Miss America runaway, wearing in a skimpy metallic magenta bikini, later winning the $1,000 scholarship for swimsuit.
Margana Wood was getting ready for a Coldplay concert in Houston when Hurricane Harvey hit. Sara Zeng, who currently lives in Miami, is bracing for what Hurricane Irma could do to Florida.
Zeng, 22, a graduate of Florida State University who studied music education and grew up in Maryland, spoke to us earlier in the day about the feeling of competing in the pageant while Florida braces for Hurricane Irma. Living in Miami with her state pageant director since she became Miss Florida, Zeng also has a home in Daytona Beach.
"It's going to be really hard to watch it unfold while I'm here in Atlantic City," she said.
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