Lauren Hjelsand crowned Miss Wausau Area 2024

Jamie Rokus, Wausau Daily Herald
·2 min read
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Lauren Hjelsand, center, was crowned Miss Wausau Area 2024 during the competition Saturday night at the UW Center for Civic Engagement. She competed with Alicia Hoffmann, left, and Alanna Racine for the title.
Lauren Hjelsand, center, was crowned Miss Wausau Area 2024 during the competition Saturday night at the UW Center for Civic Engagement. She competed with Alicia Hoffmann, left, and Alanna Racine for the title.

WAUSAU − The Miss Wausau Area Scholarship Organization has selected a young woman to represent the community for the next year.

Lauren Hjelsand was named Miss Wausau Area 2024 during the competition Saturday night at the UW Center for Civic Engagement. She was one of three young women who were vying for the title.

Hjelsand, a student at Madison Area Technical College, performed a personal monologue for her talent. For her community service initiative, she will be sharing her message about equitable STEM education throughout the year.

As the new titleholder, Hjelsand earned a $1,000 scholarship. She also earned a $100 scholarship as the overall fitness winner and a $100 scholarship as the overall evening gown winner.

Contestants Alanna Racine and Alicia Hoffmann each received $100 scholarships for competing, and Racine also earned a $100 overall talent scholarship.

The contestants for Miss Wausau Area competed in five phases: interview, talent, evening gown, health and fitness and an on-stage conversation.

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The competition was directed by Jenny Stanke, the mother of Miss America 2023 Grace Stanke. The contest is an official local preliminary to the Miss Wisconsin and Miss Wisconsin’s Teen competitions to be held in June 2024 in Oshkosh.

Tessa Knezic is a contestant for Miss Wausau Area's Teen 2024.
Tessa Knezic is a contestant for Miss Wausau Area's Teen 2024.

Tessa Knezic, a student at Wausau West High School, was the only teen who signed up for the Miss Wausau Area's Teen 2024 competition. Because they did not have enough teen contestants to hold a competition, Stanke told the Wausau Daily Herald earlier this month that she can appoint Knezic as the title winner.

Miss Wisconsin 2022 Kylene Spanbauer, a native of Fond du Lac and a baton twirler with the University of Iowa Marching Band for five years, served as emcee for the Miss Wausau Area 2024 competition. Other special guests included Miss America 2023 Grace Stanke, Miss Wisconsin 2023 Lila Szyryj and Miss Wisconsin's Teen 2023 Trinity Horstman.

For more information, email misswausauarea@gmail.com or visit Miss Wausau Area Scholarship Organization on Facebook.

Editor Jamie Rokus can be reached at jrokus@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter at @Jamie_Rokus.

This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Lauren Hjelsand crowned Miss Wausau Area 2024