The final round of the Miss Mississippi preliminary competitions came to a close Friday night at the Vicksburg Convention Center with Miss Midtown-Pointe Connor Dowdell and Miss Leaf River Valley Charity Lockridge winning in the Red Carpet phase and talent phase of the competition, respectively.

Lockridge, a Vicksburg native competing in Miss Mississippi for the fourth year, won a $500 scholarship with a vocal performance of “Listen,” from the film “Dream Girls.” This marks the second time she’s taken home a preliminary title in the competition. In 2018, Lockridge tied for a preliminary win in talent when she sang “Via Dolorosa.”

“To God be the glory; that’s all I can say,” Lockridge said. “He’s the one who gave me the talent, so all the glory be to Him. … My parents encouraged me to change my talent this year, and it was really hard to accomplish mastering this song. It took me a long time.”

After winning Friday night’s Red Carpet phase and a $400 scholarship, Dowdell said her outfit choice carried with it a unique story.

“I got my dress from Joann’s in Union City (Tenn.) and it was 15 years old and I got it off the rack,” Dowdell said. “I was the first person who fit in it, and there were no alterations — it was honestly just God’s plan for me to have that dress.”

Previous preliminary winners from this week are Miss Jones County Karsyn Ulmer and Miss University Abigail Church. On Wednesday Ulmer, won the Red Carpet phase of the preliminary competition and Church won talent. Thursday night’s preliminary winner in the Red Carpet phase was Miss Mississippi State University Emmie Perkins, and Miss Riverbend Kayla Braswell won talent.

Preliminary night scoring for each phase of the competition is 35 percent for Private Interview, 15 percent for On-Stage Interview/Social Impact Initiative, 35 percent for Talent and 15 percent for Red Carpet.

The final round of the 2022 competition, where the top ten candidates will re-compete in all phases of the competition except for the judge’s interview will begin at 8 p.m. Saturday and one candidate will take home the crown. The final night of the Miss Mississippi Competition will be carried on the following TV stations: WLBT – Jackson; WLOX – Biloxi; WDAM – Hattiesburg; WMC – Bounce in Memphis, Tenn.; WTVA – Tupelo and WMDN – Meridian.