GREENVILLE – Finally, Lauren Wright earned the title of Miss Annie Oakley Thursday night at the local festival at the Darke County Fairgrounds.
She and four others competed at the finals; the five other candidates were eliminated at the preliminaries on Wednesday night.
Runners-up this year were Samantha Beyersdorff, first, and Ruby Delk, the youngest of the group at age 12, second.
Samantha, the 17-year-old daughter of Ryan and Teresa Beyersdorff, is a sophomore at Greenville High School, and Ruby, daughter of Megan and Ryan Delk, is a seventh-grader at Greenville Junior High.
All three of the top contenders missed the target at the 95-foot mark, and it took several more rounds to determine the winners and their placings.
Others taking part in the shooting competition Thursday night were Gracie Dietrich and Alexa Robinson, both of whom were eliminated at 90 feet.
Nineteen-year-old Lauren, who also won in the best costume Wednesday night, said that was the second time in the five years that she has competed that she won in the costume contest.
When asked how she felt about her win in the shoot-out, she responded, “I have been trying for a while. I was really nervous.”
In her years of competing in the shooting contest, she placed second three times.
The daughter of Clint and Charlene Wright said she has always practiced for these events and noted that she even practiced the morning of the finals at her grandmother, Deborah Begoon’s, residence.
Ironically, Laura set another record at the Annie Oakley Festival. She was named the first Little Miss Annie Oakley in a pageant held in 2010.
A 2023 graduate of Greenville High School, she is a junior at Wright State University for the purpose of earning her bachelor’s degree in biology with the hopes of receiving her doctorate at a medical school.
Lauren is looking forward to representing the Miss Annie Oakley Festival.
Another highlight of the shooting contest Thursday night was the introduction of John Baumgardner, who will be serving as this year’s grand marshal at the parade on Saturday.
He thanked those who chose him to serve as grand marshal on behalf of his father, now deceased, and the creator of a wooden BB gun that was used for years in the competition.
“Dad was an avid woodworker,” said John, who talked of his family, including his mother, his three sisters, his wife and four children.
“I live two houses down from where Annie passed on West Third Street,” he added.
Another person who spoke in brief was Bob Hankinson of Akron, who is a relative of Annie Oakley.
The pilgrimage to Brock Cemetery followed the competition.
