AUGUSTA, Ga. - More than beauty was on display at the first ever Miss RiverBlast and Miss Teen RiverBlast pageant, Saturday night.

“This is not just a beauty pageant, we’re looking for personality, because remember now, the ladies that win this competition act as spokesmodels for the station,” one of the organizers of the event from NBC Augusta 26 News, Melody Bostic said.

Bostic says it took about 4 months to plan the pageant. Twenty-seven young women competed for the teen title and 14 women competed for the miss title.

It took the ladies all day to get ready for the big night.

“I woke up at seven and I had to get my hair done, just a little bit before practice and I had to rush down here,” said Camryn Cooper, a 14 year-old contestant from Augusta.

Students from Kenneth Shuler Schools of Cosmetology, the official sponsor of the event, styled several of the ladies who competed.

“We do hair, nails, makeup, skin on a daily basis,” Mackenzie Taylor from Kenneth Shuler said.

“I’m really anxious to know what the judges decided,” contestant Cooper said.

The contestants were all a little anxious and had every reason to be; the five judges know what makes a Miss RiverBlast.

“We have to look from the dress, the poise the confidence, the eye contact and I’m probably the pickiest person out there,” Judge Bradley Deaton said.

Deaton says spirit and passion are what judges look for most and may be the deciding factor in who wins the crown.

When the final scores were tallied, Jessica Baumgardner was crowned Miss RiverBlast 2009 and Elizabeth Towles took home the title of Miss Teen RiverBlast 2009.

Miss Teen RiverBlast 2009 Top 5

4th Runner-Up - Hannah Elizabeth Cromer - Trenton, S.C.
3rd Runner-Up - Lacey Elizabeth Ferguson - North Augusta, S.C.
2nd Runner-Up - Kaylyn Nicole George - Aiken, S.C.
1st Runner-Up - Jessica Alexandria Briana Hobbs - Martinez, Ga.
Miss Teen RiverBlast - Elizabeth Joyce Towles - North Augusta, S.C.

Miss RiverBlast 2009 Top 5

4th Runner-Up - Allison Rebecca Kennamer - Beech Island, S.C.
3rd Runner-Up - Emily Lauren Youngblood - Grovetown, Ga.
2nd Runner-Up - Ariel Elizabeth Fox - Batesburg-Leesville, S.C.
1st Runner-Up - Lauren Rickabaugh - North Augusta, S.C.
Miss RiverBlast - Jessica Joy Baumgardner - North Augusta, S.C.

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