Miss Florida Crowned in St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG - A 24-year-old Kissimmee native and UCF college student walked away with the tiara Saturday night in the Miss Florida Pageant, held in downtown St. Pete.

Kristina Janolo, competing as Miss Winter Park, will advance to the national pageant in Las Vegas, representing the Sunshine State.

In all, 43 young women vied in categories that included swimsuit and evening gown competitions at the Progress Energy Center's Mahaffey Theater to win Miss Florida 2011.

“I still can’t believe I’m Miss Florida,” Janolo said after the pageant. “I’ve always said the race does not belong to the one who is swift, but the one who endures. If there’s something that you really believe in, fight and fight and fight until that dream becomes a reality.”

Finishing third was St. Pete’s own Laura McKeeman, a University of Florida graduate who is a familiar face on Tampa Bay Rays telecasts, as a sportscaster with Fox.

“I never expected to be in the top five, because there are so many amazing girls here,” McKeeman said. “I just wanted to represent St. Petersburg well and do that to the best of my abilities.”

With contestants representing every corner of the Sunshine State, 13 had connections to the Tampa Bay area, either by winning local pageants, attending school here, or growing up in this region.

Pinellas and Pasco counties each had title holders as did Largo, Tampa and Lakeland.

• Victoria Williams, Miss Daytona Beach, hails from New Port Richey, while Olivia Stacey (Miss Lake City) and Victoria Humphrey (Miss University of Miami) are Palm Harbor natives.

• Of the 11 finalists who competed last night, three held area ties: McKeeman, Miss St. Petersburg; Stephanie Ziajka, Miss Pinellas County; and Brittany Hagen, Miss Orange County, an Indiana native who currently lives in Tampa.

The other finalists were: Kalen Dennis, Miss St. Augustine; Kimberley Triplett, Miss St. Johns County; Lerato Serane, Miss Gold Coast; Danielle Roundtree, Miss South Florida; Laura Beard, Miss Florida Gator; Jacqueline Boehme, Miss UCF; and Myrrhanda Jones, Miss Gainesville.

Following the swimsuit, evening wear and talent contests, the 11 finalists were narrowed to the final five: Jones, Roundtree, McKeeman, Dennis and Janolo.

Reigning Miss Florida Jaclyn Raulerson then stepped to the stage to announce the runners-up and ultimately hand her crown to the winner.

After Janolo’s name was announced, she hugged first runner-up Dennis, as applause and cheers filled the packed house.

“Kalen is my best friend, so I was just so in shock that it was the two of us standing there at the very end,” Janolo said.

Asked if she was ready for Miss America, she paused before stating, ”I’m still getting used to being Miss Florida… but I’ll be ready.”

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