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2008 Miss Oil Queen DeNae Leach crowns this year's queen, Monica Popham, on Tuesday night. Herald photo by Mary Nicholson.
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Tuesday, August 25, 2009 11:53 PM CDT
Monica Popham was crowned the 2009 Miss Oil Queen during the annual pageant held Tuesday night in Titusville Middle School's gymnasium. Popham was crowned by outgoing 2008 Miss Oil Queen DeNae Leach. Popham, 17, a senior at Titusville High School, is a daughter of Tammy and Travis McGill, of Titusville.
She also won the Interview Award. Popham said she was very pleased to win the title of Miss Oil Queen 2009. Her future plans include attending Edinboro University of Pennsylvania where she'll major in early childhood education. “I love kids, and I love being around kids,” she said. Popham's hobbies include four-wheeling, hanging out with her friends, shopping and going to the movies.
Miss Oil Queen runner-up is Santana Welker, 15. Welker is a sophomore at Titusville High School, and is a daughter of Crystal Welker. She also won the Platform Speech Award with the topic of autism.
The 2009 Jr. Miss Oil Queen is Ariana Sabatini, a daughter of Tambra Warner-Sabatini. Ariana is 14, and an eighth-grader at Titusville Middle School. She enjoys dancing, reading and “anything to do with fashion.” Her future plans include working in a fashion editorial.
The Junior Miss runner up is Zoe McCann, 14, a ninth-grader at Titusville High School. She is a daughter of Ginger and David McCann. Zoe has three sisters, Sarah, Siobhan, Nicole; and two brothers, Gage and Kevin. Her pets include five cats, one dog and a frog. She would like to be an orthodontist.
The 2009 Lil' Miss Oil Queen is Katelyn Dougherty, a daughter of Joseph and Kimberly Dougherty. Katelyn, 9, is a fourth-grader at Hydetown Elementary School. She has three brothers, Sean, Riley and Liam. She enjoys dancing, fishing, singing and soccer. She has one dog, Teddy, and fish. Her future plans include being a veterinarian or a country rock star.
The Little Miss Oil Queen runner up is Gabrielle Cherry, 9, daughter of Bobi Cherry. Gabrielle is a fourth-grader at Main Street Elementary School.
Miss Oil Princess for 2009 is Lily Vanderschaaff, a daughter of Justin and Nicki Vanderschaaff.
Miss Oil Princess runner-up is Cassidy Sprong, a daughter of Holly and Kevin Sprong.
The Baby Princess is Hannah Peterson, a daughter of Shelby Owens and Adam Peterson. The Baby Princess runner-up is Korryn Schmader, a daughter of Brad and Heather Schmader.
Pageant director Donna Nichols said 37 contestants participated this year. “This is our eighth year,” Nichols said. “My daughter was crowned [Miss Oil Queen] 10 years ago, and the woman in charge of the pageant gave it up and we took it over. And we've been doing it ever since.”
Nichols said she and her daughter, Sara Nichols, have been busy shopping this past weekend buying gifts for the contestants.
She went on to say that usually the pageant is held in the beginning of August. But this year, due to the Oil 150 Celebration, she was asked to move the date so the pageant would coincide with other Oil 150 events being held this week.
Among the judges were Gary Emory, of Sherman, N.Y., Staci Shawgo, of Franklin, and Melissa Dunlevy, of Meadville. Shawgo said Donna Nichols contacted her about being a judge for this year's pageant. “I [thought] it would be something interesting and fun to do,” she said. “And it's an opportunity to help out. “[The judging] was a little challenging choosing the winners,” Shawgo said.
For Leach, the evening was bittersweet. In her farewell speech, she said she enjoyed being Miss Oil Queen. Leach said she was pleased to be a role model for others during her reign as Miss Oil Queen. “It was a great opportunity to meet the other girls,” she said. The experience is definitely worth it.”
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