By ORION LEMLER
Triton Junior Miss Board of Directors

BOURBON — The Triton Junior Miss board of directors announced the contestants for the 52nd Distinguished Young Woman of Triton at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10. Tickets to the Indiana Bicentennial-themed show are available from contestants and the night of the show for $6 per person, free for children 5 and under. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

The Triton Junior Miss board and local sponsors will award $3,700 in scholarships. Preliminary awards include scholastic achievement, fitness, self-expression, talent and Spirit of Junior Miss. 

The 2016 contestants are as follows.

Kayla Ranae Kreft

Kayla Ranae Kreft, daughter of Tim and Lisa Kreft, Tippecanoe, plans to attend Ivy Tech and IUSB for pediatric nursing. Her activities include NHS, art club, Key Club, softball and golf. She volunteers as an assistant Sunday school teacher and helps in her church’s nursery and junior church program. Other interests include running, drawing, photography, shopping, reading and watching action movies. Kayla will perform a longboard routine to, “Surfin’ USA.”

Brianna Nicole Nolin

Brianna Nicole Nolin, daughter of Chad and Tiffany Nolin, Warsaw, and Amy and Angel Spencerman, Bourbon, plans to attend IU, Bloomington, then medical school. Her activities include NHS, Hoosier Girls State, KYLA, Spanish club, Trojan Singers, track, cheerleading, spirit club, yearbook and youth group. She enjoys volunteering at the Humane Society, Triton Elementary, Feed My Starving Children and the local blood drive. Other interests include singing, reading, science, cats, public speaking and guitar. Brianna will sing, “Think of Me.”

Alexis Marie Miller

Alexis Marie Miller, daughter of Ken and Nancy Miller, Bourbon, plans to attend Purdue University for biomedical engineering. Her activities include NHS, Senior Leadership Team, youth group, worship team and school musicals and plays. She has volunteered at Habitat for Humanity, an anti-bullying benefit concert, Sunday school and tutoring. She enjoys reading, singing, playing piano, spending time with nieces and nephews and watching crime shows. She will perform Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” on piano.

Jaela Claire Meister

Jaela Claire Meister, daughter of Ryan and Carmen Meister, Bourbon, plans to attend Paul Mitchell School, Indianapolis, for cosmetology. Her activities include volleyball, basketball, track and field, spirit club, Spanish club and 4-H. She has volunteered at the local blood drive, Pack a Backpack, Feed My Starving Children and elementary volleyball and basketball camps. She enjoys sand volleyball, riding horses, scary movies and taking trips to Michigamme, Mich., with her family. She will perform a jump rope routine to, “Uptown Funk.”

Kala Marie Morris

Kala Marie Morris, daughter of Mark Morris, Goshen, and Jamie Gift, South Bend, plans to attend Ivy Tech and IUSB to become a preschool teacher. Her activities include Trojan Singers, color guard, drama club, FCS, Key Club, spirit club and school newspaper. She has volunteered at Help-a-House, Hemminger House and feeding the homeless. She enjoys reading, singing, working with children, shopping and being with friends and family. Kala will perform a color guard flag routine to, “Radioactive.”

Brooklyn Rene Beatty

Brooklyn Rene Beatty, daughter of Brad and Erin Beatty, Etna Green, plans to attend IUSB for accounting. Her activities include NHS, KYLA, student council, Key Club, science club, FCS, basketball, show choir and band. She has volunteered for Feed My Starving Children, Blessings in a Backpack and church mission trips to Uganda and Jamaica. She enjoys piano lessons, guitar, singing, playing with her niece and watching crime shows. She will sing and play, “Rolling in the Deep,” on guitar.

Brooklyn Alexis Bitting

Brooklyn Alexis Bitting, daughter of Courtney and Jamie Bitting, Etna Green, plans to study agriculture education at Purdue University. Her activities include FFA, NHS, FCS, science club, 4-H, volleyball, school newspaper, show choir and school musicals and plays. She has volunteered for National Days of Service Youth Build, farmer appreciation breakfasts, tutoring and as a teachers assistant. She enjoys raising and showing pigs, singing, composing music, playing the piano and horseback riding. Brooklyn will sing, “I See the Light.”

Katie Anne-Marie Lenker

Katie Anne-Marie Lenker, daughter of Tom Lenker, Plymouth and Jon and Angela Day, Bourbon, plans to attend International Business College to become a veterinarian technician. Her activities include NHS, FFA, 4-H, track and field, choir and show choir. She has volunteered in the National Days of Service Youth Build, Marshall County 4-H breakfast, FFA breakfast and numerous church functions. She enjoys working at a veterinary clinic, milking cows, riding horses and being highly active in FFA. Katie will dance to “Billie Jean.”

Since its beginning, Junior Miss, now Distinguished Young Women, has awarded high school seniors scholarships for academic and on-stage performances. Each contestant is judged on scholastic achievement, talent, interview, fitness and self-expression. Before the show, a panel of academic judges tallies scores based on contestants’ GPAs and SAT scores, factoring in the level of class difficulty. Another panel of judges scores the other four categories. The day of the show, contestants spend 10 minutes with the judges for a personal interview. Contestants are required to answer a question on stage.

Triton’s winner will compete for Indiana’s Distinguished Young Women in Kokomo Feb. 18-20. The state-level winner will compete in the America’s Distinguished Young Women finals in Mobile, Ala., June 22-25.