Minnesota, Louisiana win 2nd night Miss America prelims

Contestants from Louisiana and Minnesota won preliminary competitions on the second night of the Miss America competition in Atlantic City on Thursday. Miss Louisiana Laryssa Bonacquisti won the swimsuit competition while Miss Minnesota Brianna Drevlow won the talent competition with a classical piano recital.

They join winners from the first night of preliminary competition Wednesday night, Miss Texas and Miss Utah. The third night of preliminaries will be held Friday and the next Miss America will be crowned Sunday night in a nationally televised finale.

This weekend, mothers whose sons were killed while serving in the military will be honored as part of the competition.

The Miss America Organization, the Got Your Back Network, Caesars Entertainment and others will host nine Gold Star mothers as honorary Miss Americas on Sunday. Three others also will be honored but can’t make it to the ceremony.

They’ll be put up and pampered at casinos, will meet with Pentagon officials and will be honored onstage at Boardwalk Hall before the nationally televised finale begins.

Among them will be Eileen Daly, of Brick, New Jersey, whose son Sgt. Ronald Kubik was killed in Afghanistan in 2010 and who posthumously was awarded the Silver Star.

Dubbed “Project Gratitude,” the event has honored about 130 women in the nine years it has been operating.

The women to be honored include four from Florida: Michele Marie Carey, of Oldster; Catherine Grace del Castillo, of Tampa; Margaret Eggers, of Cape Coral; and Jill Stephenson, of St. Petersburg. The others are Frances Ann Lee, of Fort Wright, Kentucky; Laura Gonzalez, of Indianapolis; Xiomara Edith Mena, of Falls Church, Virginia; Paula Rena Davis, of Frederick, Maryland; and three other New Jersey residents in addition to Daly: Amy Moore, of Robbinsville; Lucinda Malmo, of Red Bank, and Jacqueline Dixon, of Lindenwold.

Minnesota, Louisiana win 2nd night Miss America prelims

Contestants from Louisiana and Minnesota won preliminary competitions on the second night of the Miss America competition in Atlantic City on Thursday. Miss Louisiana Laryssa Bonacquisti won the swimsuit competition while Miss Minnesota Brianna Drevlow won the talent competition with a classical piano recital. They join winners from the first night of preliminary competition Wednesday night, Miss Texas and Miss Utah. The third night of preliminaries will be held Friday and the next Miss America will be crowned Sunday night in a nationally televised finale. This weekend, mothers whose sons were killed while serving in the military will be honored as part of the competition. The Miss America Organization, the Got Your Back Network, Caesars Entertainment and others will host nine Gold Star mothers as honorary Miss Americas on Sunday. Three others also will be honored but cant make it to the ceremony. Theyll be put up and pampered at casinos, will meet with Pentagon officials and will be honored onstage at Boardwalk Hall before the nationally televised finale begins. Among them will be Eileen Daly, of Brick, New Jersey, whose son Sgt. Ronald Kubik was killed in Afghanistan in 2010 and who posthumously was awarded the Silver Star. Dubbed Project Gratitude, the event has honored about 130 women in the nine years it has been operating. The women to be honored include four from Florida: Michele Marie Carey, of Oldster; Catherine Grace del Castillo, of Tampa; Margaret Eggers, of Cape Coral; and Jill Stephenson, of St. Petersburg. The others are Frances Ann Lee, of Fort Wright, Kentucky; Laura Gonzalez, of Indianapolis; Xiomara Edith Mena, of Falls Church, Virginia; Paula Rena Davis, of Frederick, Maryland; and three other New Jersey residents in addition to Daly: Amy Moore, of Robbinsville; Lucinda Malmo, of Red Bank, and Jacqueline Dixon, of Lindenwold.