By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Glitter, glam and grins were in full presentation Saturday evening as the annual Miss Val Verde Texas Pageant crowned its latest court in front of a capacity crowd.
Five young ladies were presented with crowns as the pageant system doled out honors in five different divisions including Little Miss, Junior Miss, Miss Pre-Teen, Miss Teen and Miss.
This year the pageant was held in the Del Rio Civic Center due to ongoing renovations and repairs being conducted at the Paul Poag Theatre for the Performing Arts. Despite the change in venues, there were still plenty of family members, fans and supporters to bring excitement and emotion to all of the contestants taking part.
In the Little Miss division, it was Khloe Ponce earning the crown. Ponce was also named Best in Fun Fashion and Best in Evening Gown in the Little Miss Division.
First Runner-Up Ava Little was named Miss Photogenic, Second Runner-Up Alina Jean Sanchez earned the People’s Choice Award and the Confidence Award, and Third Runner-Up Makayla Arredondo earned the Best Participation Award.
In the Junior Miss Division, Ella Farrar earned the crown. Farrar earned an armful of awards as she was also named Miss Photogenic, Best in Fun Fashion, Best in Evening Gown and Miss Congeniality.
Jenaviev Mendez was named First Runner-Up in the Junior Miss Division. She also took home the Social Media Award.
Ava Darden was crowned the new Miss Pre-Teen Val Verde. She was the sole participant in the Pre-Teen division for youth ages 12 to 14.
The Miss Teen Val Verde division featured the most competitors with six. In the end, Trinity Martinez became the new titleholder. She was also named Most Photogenic, Best in Active Wear and Best in Evening Gown.
First Runner-Up Jaylin Medina won the Social Media Award. Second Runner-Up was Carolina Aguilar. Damarys Alonso was named Third Runner-Up. Mia Escamilla was presented with the Award of Merit. Felicidad Maldonado also participated in the Teen division.
The new Miss Val Verde crown went to Alena Hernandez. The first time pageant competitor also won Best in Swimsuit and Best in Evening Gown.
Eva Gloria was the First Runner-Up. She earned the People’s Choice Award and was named Miss Congeniality as well as Most Photogenic.
Participants in the pageant were scored on a variety categories including fun fashion, evening gown, evening wear, leisure wear, fitness wear and swimsuit, based on their age divisions. The Teen and Miss division participants also had to answer an onstage question.
The audience also had a hand in the awards. The Social Media Awards went to the girls whose photos had the most “likes” through the pageant system’s official social media pages. The People’s Choice Award went to the young lady whose bucket collected the most money during the pageant intermission. All of the funds collected went to benefit various organizations in the community and the two audience awards had no bearing on the overall outcome of the pageant.
Pageant participants and 2022 titleholders were also recognized by the office of State Representative Eddie Morales with resolutions presented on his behalf.
The night also served as the final performance of duties for the 2022 Miss Val Verde titleholders. Each of the girls present had their final “thank you” message played aloud while accepting flowers from pageant director Edward Guerrero and family members. Making their final walks were outgoing royalty Ember Matherne, Miss Junior Val Verde Texas; Alyssa Portillo, Miss Pre-Teen Val Verde Texas; Amaris Leon, Miss Teen Val Verde Texas; and Alyssa Sanchez, Miss Val Verde Texas.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
