The coveted Miss America pageant, an 88-year-old beauty contest, has been won by Indiana’s Katie Stam! Miss Georgia Chasity Hardman was declared the first runner-up.

The reigning Miss America, Kirsten Haglund of Michigan, crowned Stam, who will start off on a year of tours and public appearances.

Stam, 22, a University student was crowned Miss America from among the 52 young contestants who took to the stage in blue jeans, bikinis and ball-gowns. The final event was preceded by a mini-reality series on pageant prep work and a week-long preliminary contest.

During the talent round of the pageant, at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Stam’s rendition of “Via Dolorosa” drew a thundering applause from the audience.

Stam, a determined contender, did not allow a laryngitis attack to stand in the way of her final attempt. With the experience of competing in pageants since the age of 15, she walked onstage in a black bikini and an off-the-shoulder, white lace evening gown.

The interview round of the contest had Stam condemning the use of performance-boosting drugs among professional athletes, and gave ‘her definition’ of glamour. The Seymour native expressed her views saying: “That beauty that you feel on the inside, it’s that confidence, that radiance inside of you, that’s what glamour is.”

Stam, who wishes to become a television news anchor, would pursue a bachelor’s degree in communications, with the $50,000 scholarship!