Cozart wins Miss Crittenden Fair pageant Breanna Cozart had a little pep in her step Tuesday morning as she took her position in the lifeguard seat at Venture River Water Park in Eddyville.
The 17-year-old awoke to the euphoria of being named Miss Crittenden County the night before. Cozart, one of 10 contestants in the annual Lions Club County Fair Pageant, is the daughter of Stephon and Heather Cozart of Marion.
To Cozart, the significance of winning the crown lies in the fact that she is the first African-American to earn the title of Miss Crittenden County.
Her father stayed up late Sunday helping her prepare for potential questions she might be asked during the competition. While her dad was unable to miss work for the pageant, Cozart called him with the good the news, noting it was his help that catapulted her through the questioning phase of the pageant.
Cozart is a very poised young woman who has excelled in Crittenden County athletics. She was a standout on the Lady Rocket basketball and volleyball teams as a sophomore but sat out the 2006-07 seasons to recover from knee surgery to repair a torn ACL.
“It’s pretty exciting,” her mom said following the pageant. “As a mother, I feel like she deserves it after the tough year she had.”
Cozart expects to be back in action this fall in both sports – either of which she'd like to play in college.
The senior at Crittenden County High School has considered Kentucky State University in Frankfort as one college option, and hopes to discuss collegiate sports with coaches there in the near future.
She said her friends encouraged her to enter the pageant, suggesting it would look good on college applications. Now she can add Fair Queen to her resume.
Before the queen was announced, Cozart and runner-up Meredith Lanham stood hand-in-hand. Cozart’s mouth dropped open in surprise as Lanham was announced as runner-up.
Cozart said all of the jitters were out of the way by the time the top five competitors were named. During final round of questioning, Cozart admitted she's occasionally stubborn and would like to accept constructive criticism better if she could change anything about herself.
For now, she can enjoy her reign as Miss Crittenden County as she starts her final year of high school.
Miss Congeniality of the pageant was Elise Hill.
Talent show
The fair continued Tuesday night, with the first-ever talent contest hosted at the fairgrounds. Chris O’Leary organized the event, calling it Crittenden County’s version of the popular reality show “America’s Got Talent.”
“It went well,” O’Leary said, adding that the show will return to next year’s fair.
Winners at Tuesday’s talent contest were as follows:
•Adults 18 and older: Ellen Buchanan, first, and Stephanie Lane, second.
•Teens age 13-17: Ladonna Herrin, first; Ashlee Collins, second; and Casey Knox, third.
•Youth 12 and under: Bailey Hart, first; Shea Martin and Daelynn Hardin (duet), second; and Ashley Harris, third.
Remaining events
On Wednesday, the tractor and lawn tractor pulls highlighted the day’s events, which also included open division exhibit judging in the fair barn and a pet show.
Today (Thursday) action continues in the morning and afternoon with a youth goat and sheep show and antique exhibit judging. The nightcap will be the truck pulls at 7 p.m., at the fairgrounds.
Friday at 7 p.m., EnduroCross races are the headline event.
Everybody’s favorite, the demolition derby, revs up at 7 p.m., Saturday for the closing night event. A youth bicycle rodeo will be held at Marion-Crittenden County Park that morning.
These remaining nights of the fair, the midway will be open to the public. Entry into the fair is free for children under 5, $5 for children 5-15 and $8 for all others.