Katie Stam, of Indiana, was crowned Miss America on Saturday night fighting off a throat infection, laryngitis and 51 other contestants to win the 88-year-old pageant.The 22-year-old University of Indianapolis student drew loud applause for her rendition of "Via Dolorosa" during the talent portion of the pageant at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
She is a communications major at the University of Indianapolis. An aspiring broadcaster, Stam has interned at two Indianapolis TV stations.
The Seymour native also strutted onstage in a black bikini and an off-the-shoulder, white lace evening gown. During the interview portion of the competition she decried the use of performance-enhancing drugs among professional athletes and discussed the definition of glamour.
"That beauty that you feel on the inside, it's that confidence, that radiance inside of you, that's what glamour is," Stam said.
Among her supporters was Michigan City native Jan Mertl, who serves as director of the Miss Duneland pageant where Stam got her local start to go on to the national pageant, Duane Mertl said.
He said his wife, who has served as Miss Duneland pageant director for 19 years, had worked with Stam and had traveled to Las Vegas.
Stam won a $50,000 scholarship and hopes to obtain a bachelor's degree in communications and become a television news anchor. She began competing in pageants at age 15.
The first runner-up was Miss Georgia Chasity Hardman, who took home a $25,000 scholarship.
The 52 young women took to the stage in blue jeans, bikinis and ballgowns following a mini-reality series on pageant prep work and a week of preliminary competition.
