Miss Wisconsin 2022 Grace Stanke was named the winner of this year's Miss America competition on Thursday.
The Wausau native was crowned by Miss America 2022 Emma Broyles.
The 2023 Miss America pageant was held in Uncasville, Connecticut, at the Mohegan Sun Casino.
Congratulations to #MissAmerica2023, Grace Stanke from Wisconsin!
— The Miss America Org (@MissAmerica) December 16, 2022
1st Runner Up - New York
2nd Runner Up - Texas
3rd Runner Up - West Virginia
4th Runner Up - Georgia pic.twitter.com/czu6wCryOo
First runner-up was Miss New York, followed by Texas, West Virginia, and Georgia.
NBC affiliate WGBA-TV reported earlier this week that Stanke won the $2,500 talent scholarship for her classical violin performance.
Besides being a musician, she is also a nuclear engineer.
"I want to leave the legacy of the women who can, you know," Stanke said per WGBA-TV. "A lot of the time, I get put into this box when people hear I'm a nuclear engineer, but I can do so much more. I'm a classical musician. I'm a competitive water skier. I'm a family member, a friend, and an outdoorswoman who loves to go camping in the woods in the middle of the night, right."
Stanke isn't the first Miss Wisconsin to become Miss America. Laura Koeppeler of Kenosha won in 2011, and Terry Meeuwsen of De Pere was crowned in 1973.
