Briana Kinsey Makes Hoover Proud in Miss America Pageant

HOOVER, AL - While it might not be often that a city in Alabama roots hard for Miss District of Columbia to win the Miss America Pageant, this year's competition was one of those years. And, Hoover was made proud by the 3rd Runner Up finish of Miss Distrcit of Columbia Briana Kinsey. But why would Hoover residents care? Because Kinsey is a Hoover native, and although she was not competing as Miss Alabama, she has a large fan base in the state.

Kinsey gradated from Hoover High School in 2011 and the University of Alabama in 2015 and now lives in Washington, D.C., where she is doing post-baccalaureate work at American University. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Birmingham Patch morning newsletter.)

According to her bio, Kinsey, the daughter of Robert and Velda Kinsey, won her first pageant as Miss Jefferson County Outstanding Teen in 2008 and then was Miss Birmingham Outstanding Teen in 2009. She was first runner-up in the Miss Alabama Outstanding Teen pageant both of those years, she said. Also, she placed first runner-up in the Alabama Junior Miss Pageant, now referred to as the Distinguished Young Women of Alabama pageant, in 2010. She then went on to win the Miss Birmingham Pageant in 2011, Miss Hoover Pageant in 2012, Miss Marble Valley Pageant in 2013, Miss North Jefferson Area Pageant in 2014 and Miss Leeds Area Pageant in 2015.

An article in the Hoover Sun says she competed in the Miss Alabama Pageant five times and placed in the top 10 her first year and top five the past three years, she said. Because of her age, this was her final year to be eligible to participate in a competition linked to the Miss America organization.

Kinsey, who wants to attend medical school, was asked a question in the pageant that was rather pertinent to the football-crazy community of Hoover. One of the judges asked if she would support legislation that outlawed full-contact football at the elementary and high school level due to the danger of concussions. Kinsey said she would support such legislation.

The winner was Miss North Dakota Cara Mund. Miss Alabama Jessica Procter also made the Top 7.
The rest of the top 5 were first runner-up Miss Missouri Jennifer Davis, second runner-up Miss New Jersey Kaitlyn Schoeffel and fourth runner-up Miss Texas Margana Wood. Miss Alabama Jessica Proctor, a student at the University of Alabama, finished seventh.

(Photo by Donald Kravitz/Getty Images)