When the Miss America Pageant airs Saturday night (8 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4), Utah will have a rooting interest.
Well, Utah always has a rooting interest. There's always a Miss Utah in the competition.
But this year, Miss Utah looks like one of the favorites.
Danica Olsen finished first in the lifestyle and fitness competition leading up to Saturday's finals, claiming a $1,000 scholarship in the process. That category also accounts for 15 percent of a contestant's score.
Olsen, who entered the Miss Utah competition as Miss Utah Valley University - she's a junior majoring in speech commuication - appeared in a Deaville Komplique swimsuit with gold and Swarovski crystal accents. (If you understand swimsuit fashion, that probably means something to you.)
The young woman from Tooele joins Miss Wisconsin, Laura Kaeppeler, who won the talent competition (which is 35 percent of a contestant's score) as an early front runner to be Miss America.
(By the way, the pageant will air on a one-hour tape-delay in Utah.)
