Mariah Dawn Huff of Jackson County earned the title of Miss Indiana State Fair during the final day of the queen pageant in the Pepsi Coliseum. Huff was chosen from 87 contestants, each representing their home county. “I’ve been to the fair for 20 years,” she said. “I’ve never missed a year of the Indiana State Fair. I feel so honored just to be a part of it.” Huff, 20, is a junior at Purdue University studying agriculture education. She is the 55th young lady to be crowned Miss Indiana State Fair, and the timing couldn’t have been better. “Tomorrow’s my birthday,” she said. “This is the best birthday present you could ask for. It was so awesome, and it’s a great feeling.”
Huff succeeds Erika Elaine Burghardt of Tippecanoe County and will begin representing the State Fair in 2013. A video of Huff’s crowning can be viewed at http://bit.ly/OCtjjs.
Here are the results of the Top 10 finalists:
The Queen’s Court:
- 1st Runner-up – Bailey Elizabeth Farrer, Cass County
- 2nd Runner-up – Katelyn Marie Marak, Porter County
- 3rd Runner-up – Abby Luray Everett, Boone County
- 4th Runner-up – Taylor Rae Sigler, Spencer County
Other finalists, in no particular order:
- Kristiann Joyce Maggard, Rush County
- Paige MacKenzie Grate, DeKalb County
- Lynn Elizabeth Diehm, Noble County
- Kaytlyn Joan Eberly, Kosciusko County
- Brooke Taylor Howerton, Crawford County
Miss Congeniality: Morgan Kehl Harrison, Fountain County