ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Savvy Shields of Arkansas was crowned Miss America 2017 on Sunday night.
The outgoing Miss America, Betty Cantrell, placed the crown on the head of her successor.
Shields won the talent competition on the second night of preliminaries with a jazz dance to a song from the TV show “Smash.”
Miss Missouri Erin O’Flaherty — the first openly gay contestant to win a state title — was not chosen as one of the top 15 finalists in Sunday night’s nationally televised pageant.
The competition featured contestants from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
The pageant began in Atlantic City in 1921 as a way to extend the summer tourist season beyond Labor Day weekend.
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