New Miss Randolph County is crowned

RANDLEMAN — A 21-year old from Southern Pines is the new Miss Randolph County.

Ashley Leonard, a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, took home the title in a competition Saturday evening and will represent Randolph County next year in the Miss North Carolina competition.

Ila Monical, 15, was crowned Miss Randolph County Teen. She’s a sophomore at Topsail High School in Hampstead.

The competition was sponsored and operated by the Kiwanis Club of Asheboro and took place at Randleman Elementary School auditorium. The 10 contestants competed in categories of private interview, health and fitness, talent, red carpet/evening gown and on-stage interview/conversation.

Leonard performed a viola solo as her talent with the song “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” She also presented her community service initiative “Love Doesn’t Hurt” to the judges.

In addition to the crown and title of Miss Randolph County, Leonard also collected a $1,000 scholarship from the Kiwanis Club of Asheboro, along with other monetary and gift items from sponsors.

Monical’s talent was musical theater performance and her community service initiative is “You Know Me, Not My Story.” She received a $500 scholarship.

Both winners will represent Randolph County in the Miss North Carolina and Miss North Carolina’s Teen competitions next June.

“I am incredibly honored to represent this area for the next year,” Leonard said. “I hope you all follow along with my journey to Miss North Carolina.”

Maxine Ford was the runner-up in the Miss Randolph County competition and Cedrianna Huffman was first runner-up in the teen competition.

Miss North Carolina Taylor Loyd, Miss Randolph County 2023 Tori Gross and Miss Randolph County’s Teen 2023 Parker Sterling were in attendance and participated on stage and in the crowning of the winners.

Miss Randolph County is open to contestants from Alamance, Chatham, Davidson, Guilford, Montgomery, Moore and Randolph counties. The Miss North Carolina competition features contestants who win a local competition such as Miss Randolph County.

Some local competitions are “open” meaning contestants may come from any of the 100 counties in North Carolina. Others are limited to a group of adjacent counties. The Miss Randolph County Teen portion of Saturday’s competition was open.