The Miss Ohio Scholarship Program selects the representative for the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

to compete for the title of

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

. The pageant is held annually, during the "Miss Ohio Festival" week, at the historic 1,600 seat Renaissance Theatre (originally named the Ohio Theatre) in

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

. Ohio representatives have won the Miss America pageant six times, joining

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

as the only states with six crowns. New York has the most winners with seven. Ohio is the only state to have a contestant who won the Miss America title twice: * 1922

Mary Katherine Campbell Mary Katherine Campbell (December 18, 1905 – June 7, 1990) was the only person to win the Miss America pageant twice and the second woman in history to win the title. Early life and education Campbell's Miss America biography stated she is ...

, Columbus* * 1923

, Columbus* * 1938 Marilyn Meseke,

Marion Marion or MARION may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Marion (band), a British alternative rock group * ''Marion'' (miniseries), a 1974 miniseries * ''Marion'' (1920 film), an Italian silent film * ''Marion'' (2024 film), a UK short People a ...

* 1963 Jacquelyn Mayer, Sandusky * 1972 Laurie Lea Schaefer,

Bexley Bexley is an area of south-eastern Greater London, England and part of the London Borough of Bexley. It is sometimes known as Bexley Village or Old Bexley to differentiate the area from the wider borough. It is located east-southeast of Ch ...

* 1978 Susan Perkins, Middletown ''*'' When city representatives were common at the national pageant,

competed in Miss America Pageants as "Miss Columbus, Ohio". The Miss Ohio pageant played a significant role in the saving of the Ohio Theatre and its renovation into the Renaissance Theatre. Mansfield originally hosted the Miss Ohio Pageant at the old Ohio Theatre from 1959 through 1962. After Jacquelyn Mayer, Miss Ohio 1962, was crowned Miss America 1963, the Miss Ohio pageant was relocated to the Ballroom Pavilion at

Cedar Point Cedar Point is a amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States, owned and operated by Six Flags. It opened in 1870 and is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the US behind Lake Compounc ...

Amusement Park in Sandusky. In 1975, the pageant returned to Mansfield, first to Malabar High School Auditorium from 1975 through 1978, then to the Madison Theatre in 1979. In 1980, it was decided to televise the pageant. Because of inadequate stage depth and backstage space at the Madison Theatre, then pageant producer Denny Keller and pageant set designer Paul Gilger persuaded the Miss Ohio Board of Directors to move the pageant back to Mansfield's Ohio Theatre, reopening the facility and sprucing it up for the pageant's first televised broadcast. The pageant's return to the old Ohio Theatre was the initial event that eventually led to the total renovation of the theatre and its reincarnation into the Renaissance Theatre. The Miss Ohio Scholarship Program has been held at the Renaissance Theatre since 1980, now for over 40 years. Stephanie Finoti of Columbus was crowned Miss Ohio 2024 on June 15, 2024, at Renaissance Theatre in

. She competed for the title of Miss America 2025 on January 5 in 2025 and placed 4th Runner-Up. The highest placement for Ohio since 1993.

Results summary

The following is a visual summary of the past results of Miss Ohio titleholders at the national Miss America pageants/competitions. The year in parentheses indicates the year of the national competition during which a placement and/or award was garnered, not the year attached to the contestant's state title.

Placements

* Miss Americas:

(

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

and

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

), Marilyn Meseke (

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

), Jacquelyn Mayer (

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

), Laurie Lea Schaefer (

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

), Susan Perkins (

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

) * 1st runners-up:

(1924), Kathrine Baumann (1970), Tana Carli (1980), Melissa Ann Bradley (1985) * 2nd runners-up: Titilayo Adedokun (1994) * 3rd runners-up: Sharon Phillian (1967), Susan Banks (1976), Sher Patrick (1979) * 4th runners-up: Pamela Helean Rigas (1984), Kristin Huffman (1990), Stephanie Finoti (2025) * Top 10: Barbara Quinlin (1955), Kathy Vernon (1981), Suellen Cochran (1986), Robin Michelle Meade (1993), Lea Mack (1995), Mackenzie Bart (2015) * Top 11: Elizabetta Nies (2023) * Top 15: Pauline James (1924), Elsie Connor (1925), Evelyn Townley (1936), Evelyn Bertelsbeck (1938), Janice Sulzman (1941) * Top 16: Evelyn Townley (1937), Jean Fadden (1937), LaVonne Bond (1946) * Top 18: Corinne Porter (1933)

Awards

Preliminary awards

* Preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness: Kathrine Baumann (1970), Laurie Lea Schaefer (1972), Pamela Helean Rigas (1984), Suellen Cochran (1986), Alice Magoto (2017), Stephanie Finoti (2025) * Preliminary Talent: Barbara Patterson (1942), Joan Hyldoft (1943), Barbara Quinlin (1955), Sharon Phillian (1967), Kathrine Baumann (1970), Susan Banks (1976), Susan Perkins (1978), Tana Carli (1980), Suellen Cochran (1986), Kristin Huffman (1990), Titilayo Adedokun (1994), Mackenzie Bart (2015)

Non-finalist awards

* Non-finalist Talent: Karen Sparka (1973), Cheryl Yourkvitch (1974), Lorrie Kapsta (1975), Janice Cooley (1977), Juliana Zilba (1982), Sarah Ann Evans (1989), Robyn Hancock (1997), Amanda Beagle (2005)

Other awards

* Miss Congeniality: N/A * Dr. David B. Allman Medical Scholarship: Juliana Zilba (1982) * Charles & Theresa Brown Scholarship: Mackenzie Bart (2015) * Evening Dress Award Third Prize:

(1922) * Intercity Beauty Award:

(1922) * Intercity Roller Chair Parade Third Prize: Leile Charles (1922) * Quality of Life Award 2nd runners-up: Lea Mack (1995), Tiffany Haas (2003) * Quality of Life Award Finalists: Ellen Bryan (2012) * STEM Scholarship Award Winners: Mackenzie Bart (2015) * Women in Business Scholarship Award Winners: Sarah Clapper (2018)

Winners

References

External links

*
Official website
{{Miss America state

Ohio culture Women in Ohio 1922 establishments in Ohio Recurring events established in 1922 Annual events in Ohio