The Miss Mississippi State University pageant crowned Vicksburg’s Sarah Randolph its winner Thursday night.

Randolph, a senior biological sciences major, was named first alternate in the 2023 pageant, which serves as a preliminary pageant for Miss Mississippi and Miss America.

Randolph took part in the 2024 Miss Mississippi competition in Vicksburg in June as Miss Heart of the South, where she tied with Miss Lafayette County Madison Belk in the evening gown preliminary phase and was ultimately crowned as a runner-up to Miss Mississippi, along with Vicksburg’s Morgan Nelson.

“It was unbelievable every time I heard my name,” Randolph said in June. “I was just thanking God for everything. From being in the top 15 last year, not even making it into the top 10 competing my first year, it showed me that hard work and dedication goes a long way. Third runner-up still sounds absolutely crazy to me, but being a part of this organization has grown me so much as a person and has strengthened my mindset to truly believe in myself.”

Miss MSU receives a full-tuition scholarship, with the first, second and third runners up receiving $1,000, $750 and $500 scholarships respectively.