By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

LUTCHER — Lindsay Dufresne dropped to her knees and held her face, filled with tears of joy, in her hands. Moments later, Bianca Steib’s eyes lit up, her face expressing equal parts amazement and happiness.

Steib had just been crowned as the 61st Miss St. James Parish, while Dufresne had just been named the 21st Miss Teen St. James at the St. James Parish Pageant Saturday at the Lutcher High School Auditorium.

“I even asked the girl next to me, ‘Are they serious?’” said Steib. “I thought, ‘Me? Really?’ That I really did it … I’m still in shock.”

“I’m extremely excited. I didn’t expect this at all,” said Dufrense. “Words just cannot describe what this means to me.”

Eleven girls in total competed for the two honors — seven for Miss St. James and four for Miss Teen St. James. Mallory Duhe, Denise Moran, Chelsie Batiste, Hannah Guidry, Deja Steib and Mary-Lynn Detillier shared the Miss St. James field with Bianca Steib, while Kassidi Williams, Sydney Poche and Amanda Dufresne competed with Lindsay Dufresne for Miss Teen St. James.

Duhe was named first maid, while Deja Steib was second maid and Moran third maid in Miss St. James. Amanda Dufresne was named first for Miss Teen St. James.

The night marked the end of the respective reigns of Amy Waguespack and Kaitlin Beier as Miss St. James and Miss Teen St. James, respectively, as each relinquished their title.

Seth Bourgeois served as Master of Ceremonies for the event, while Trista Brazan was Mistress of Ceremonies.

Each winner was crowned based on the scoring of a panel of judges. Participants earned points for the quality of their interview, as well as their on-stage performance during the night’s evening gown category.

For Dufresne, it was her second pageant win after earning the 2011 Teen Miss Festival of the Bonfires crown.

“I didn’t think my interview went as well as I’d have hoped,” she said. “But I guess it means I shouldn’t doubt myself.”

“The St. James title means a lot to me because it means I can represent where I come from.”

Meanwhile, for Steib Saturday’s event represented her first pageant competition of any kind.

“Miss Petty (Pollet, the pageant’s director) asked me if I’d want to compete, and that in itself was a shock. I told her I’d give it my best shot, and here I am.”

Both said it was nerve-wracking.

“I went to every practice … I even looked on the Internet for model walks, pageant walks. I looked up everything I could,” said Steib.

Added Dufresne, “The toughest part was the interview. I had to have confidence in myself.”

Competitors also earned additional honors at the event, awarded for skills displayed through the competitive process. Among Miss Teen St. James competitors, Lindsay Dufresne earned honors for Miss Photogenic and Best Fashion, Kassidi Williams was named Miss Congeniality and Amanda Dufrense was named People’s Choice.

In the Miss St. James field, Bianca Steib won the People’s Choice award and Miss Congeniality. Hannah Guidry was Miss Photogenic and Mary-Lynn Detillier earned Best Fashion honors.  

Bianca Steib also received recognition for Top Salesperson for selling the most ads prior to the event. Each honoree earned a crystal trophy.

The new Miss St. James Parish queen will have the opportunity to compete in the 71st Louisiana State Sugar Queen Festival in New Iberia this September.