HOT SPRINGS, S.D. – Celebrating the Diamond Anniversary of the Miss South Dakota competition, twenty young women from across the state will compete June 2 – 4 for nearly $48,000 in scholarships and the role of Miss South Dakota. The new Miss South Dakota will take home at least $8,000 in scholarship money and will represent South Dakota at the Miss America Competition. Dozens of former Miss South Dakotas are expected to attend for the celebration.
The preliminary competitions will be 6:00 Thursday, June 2, and 2:00 p.m. Friday, June 3, with a gala celebration Friday evening in honor of the anniversary. The Miss South Dakota’s Outstanding Teen competition will be held in conjunction with the Miss competition Thursday evening and Friday afternoon, with the new Miss South Dakota’s Outstanding Teen being crowned at the conclusion of Friday afternoon’s event . The final competition, crowning our 75th Miss South Dakota, will take place at 6:00 on Saturday, June 4. All competitions are at the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center, on the South Dakota State University campus in Brookings. The competition finals on Saturday will be also be available on livestream. Ticket information for in-person events as well as the livestream available at https://www.misssd.org/miss-
The pageant will feature Kaitlin O’Neill of Groton, Miss South Dakota 2021. Kaitlin represented South Dakota at the 100th Anniversary Miss America Competition in December 2021 at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. She spent the year advocating for her social impact initiative, “Healthy Mind, Healthy Body, Healthy You” – focused on helping others to balance their mental, physical, and emotional health.
The candidates will be judged on a private interview with the judges (35%), talent (35%), evening wear/red carpet (15%) and on-stage interview/social impact pitch (15%).
The young women competing are (name, age, title, hometown, talent, and social impact initiative):
Annie Woodmansey, 25, Miss Northern State University, Pierre, Talent: Flute, Social Impact Initiative: Fine Arts for All Hearts
Ashley Rose German, 23, Miss Dakota Rose, Sioux City, IA, Talent: Team Routine Dance, Social Impact Initiative: There is an I in Important. A Focus on Self-Worth and Mental Health in a World Full of Comparisons
Baylee Dittman, 26, Miss Heartland, Spearfish, Talent: Quick Change Magic, Social Impact Initiative: Breaking the Barcode: Ending Human Trafficking
Breanna Bossman, 20, Miss University of South Dakota, Humboldt, Talent: Dance, Social Impact Initiative: Meet the Need: National Blood Shortage
Carly Goodhart, 26, Miss Rapid City, Sisseton, Talent: Vocal, Social Impact Initiative: Woman Up: Upping the Education and Access to Women’s Health
Emily Deinken, 23, Miss Dakota Plains, Sioux Center, IA, Talent: Flute, Social Impact Initiative: Changing Classroom Culture: Advocating for Educators
Emma Salzwedel, 21, Miss Brookings, Sioux Falls, Talent: Monologue, Social Impact Initiative: Peeling the Label: Embracing Individuality
Hunter Widvey, 23, Miss Huron, Rapid City, Talent: Vocal, Social Impact Initiative: Childhood Cancer Awareness
Jaycee Clark, 19, Miss Siouxland, Huron, Talent: Vocal, Social Impact Initiative: Kindness Counts
Kendall Cummings, 25, Miss Hot Springs, Grants Pass, OR, Talent: Boxing, Social Impact Initiative: Joyful Heart Foundation
Laney Titze, 19, Miss Rolling Plains, Mitchell, Talent: Piano, Social Impact Initiative: Art for All
Loretta Simon, 22, Miss Capital City, Seneca, Talent: Vocal, Social Impact Initiative: Perfect Paws
Lysa Thompson, 25, Miss Fall River Balloon Festival, Sioux Falls, Talent: Monologue, Social Impact Initiative: Speak Up
Maleah Eschenbaum, 22, Miss Missouri Valley, Aberdeen, Talent: ASL Translated Song, Social Impact Initiative: More Than Looks
Margaret Samp, 20, Miss Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls, Talent: Classical Vocal, Social Impact Initiative: Beyond Dyslexia
Mckenzie Hassebroek, 20, Miss Hub City, Westport,Talent: Science Experiment, Social Impact Initiative: Turning Roadblocks Into Opportunity
Megan Clark, 20, Miss Central States Fair, Huron, Talent: Vocal, Social Impact Initiative: IVF for ECK
Miranda O’Bryan, 24, Miss State Fair, Martin, Talent: Musical Theatre Vocal, Social Impact Initiative: Page Turners: Fall in Love with Reading
Molly Crawford, 19, Miss South Dakota State University, Danville, KY, Talent: Poetry, Social Impact Initiative: Foster Kits: Welcome Home
Rio Snyder, 18, Miss Dakota Prairie, Black Hawk, Talent: Dance, Social Impact Initiative: L.I.P.P. – Look Inside People Project
More information about candidates, the competition, and all events is available at misssd.org.
