Hopefuls for crown were finally able to practice Monday after a Zoom ‘practice’ last week
By Per Peterson
It wasn’t an ideal start to the summer for the eight Miss Tracy candidates, but they made the most of it. And on Monday, the girls were actually able to get together for the first time to begin rehearsing for the big night.
After a week of virtual “rehearsals” on Zoom, the eight Tracy Area High School seniors got together for the first time Monday evening under the direction of Mallory Fultz.
“We did a lot of talking about talents and going over different things on the program the best we could — it was only about an hour,” Fultz said of the Zoom meetings. “It was at least a start.”
This year’s candidates are Rachel Przybilla, Kathy Vang, Lauren Verlinde, Megan Surprenant, Madysen Swan, Jenna Spanovich, Kylie Hensch and Kelli James.
Fultz isn’t panicking about being behind, considering that Labor Day is late this year (Sept. 7), which means the Miss Tracy Scholarship program won’t take place until Sept. 6.
“We get an extra two practices in August, so that helps — we’re not too concerned about it,” she said. “We’re hoping that we can have more people together inside shortly. Right now, you can only have 10 and that’s hard.”
Other directors this year include Kim Roggatz, Lexi Erickson, Alicia Swenhaugen, Kelsey Stuefen, Mary Squires and Vicki Towne.
“We have to split up in groups,” Fultz said. “(Monday night) we had some inside and some outside. We’re hoping for decent weather, because outside we can be in groups of up to 25. So if we can do some stuff outside — like fitness and presence and composure right way — that will help. We’ll just have to play it week-by-week.”
The outside practices can take place anywhere outside the school — from the green space by the wrestling room, to the parking lot.
Fultz said it’s been fun getting to know the girls, even though before Monday it was over Zoom.
“I know a lot of them, but most of the directors don’t, so it was fun to finally meet in person (Monday night) — you get a little bit better idea of their personalities, and they feel a little more comfortable talking to you in person instead of over a computer.”
Fultz, who has been working with Miss Tracy candidates for seven years, said this year’s group seems to be part of a really close class.
“They’re really comfortable with each other, which helps when they’re in groups, because they kind of feed off each other,” she said. “The directors all know each other very well and can play off each other. It helps when both sides are comfortable.”
See this week’s Headlight Herald for more on this article.