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Ball State's local royalty

Ball State Junior Kalyn Melham competed at the Indiana State Fair Queen Pageant on April 10.

MUNCIE, Ind. (NewsLink) -- Ball State Junior Kalyn Melham, winner of the Delaware County Fair Queen Pageant, traveled to Indianapolis to compete in the Indiana State Fair Queen Pageant on April 10.

From Miss Delaware County to the Indiana State Fair Queen Pageant, junior English major Kalyn Melham has surprised herself time and time again with her success.

“My goal was just to place in the top 16, and when I met that goal, I was really shocked, but it was really an accomplished feeling,” Melham said.

The event saw twice as many competitors due to the 2020 pageant being canceled. Not only did Melham place in the top 16 out of 114 women, she soon found herself placed as the second runner up at the Indiana State Fair Queen Pageant and the only representative from Delaware County.

“It was an honor, for sure, especially with all of the talented young ladies that were there,” Melham smiled.

Thanks to her mother’s encouragement, Melham has been involved in pageants since her freshman year at Ball State and has found herself in love with the atmosphere. She says she’s not done yet.

“I would really like to do Miss Ball State next year because it’s my senior year and with COVID, I wasn’t able to do it my sophomore year and my junior year I had the title Miss Delaware County, so I couldn’t neglect that rule and go for Miss Ball State and I wouldn’t want to either," Melham said.

Melham is set to crown her successor at the next annual Delaware County Fair Queen Pageant June 18 at 7 p.m. at Muncie Central High School.

For any questions, contact Olivia Sloniker at omsloniker@bsu.edu.