Day three of the Miss America preliminary competition turned out to be the charm for Miss Hawaii Lauren Cheape and Miss New York Kaitlin Monte on Thursday night at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
Monte picked up a scholarship for taking top honors in Swimsuit and Cheape dazzled the judges in the Talent competition with her lively rope trick inspired routine to the strains of the Jerry Lee Lewis vintage hit Great Balls of Fire.
Prelim winners from the first two rounds of competition include Miss Texas Kendall Morris, Miss Oklahoma Betty Thompson, Miss Utah Danica Olsen and Miss Wisconsin Laura Kaeppeler.
The presumption is that these six women will be among the finalist and one of them could end up being crowned 2012 Miss American during the live ABC broadcast on Saturday, January 14.
This does beg the question … which of these lovelies do you think has the best chance to win the competition? Check them all out in our gallery below and see Miss Hawaii’s rope tricks from her Miss Hawaii competition:
Photos: Judy Eddy-WENN