Although the 16 year-old beauty queen did not place in the top ten, she performed well in all categories during the international pageant.
“At our first personal interview, I was a little nervous at first but as soon as I sat down all my nervousness went away. The judges were really nice and very friendly. They were mostly former beauty queens from different states,” said St. Clair.
“The only male judge was a modeling agent. I told them about my platform, and they seemed to be very interested. All in all, I think that I did very well,” she said.
The 2008 Miss Teen International Pageant concluded last Saturday with 44 contestants competing for the crown.
The Fourth runner-up is Miss Teen Minnesota Megan Herickhoff, Third runner-up is Miss Teen California Breia Boswell, Second runner-up is Miss Teen Georgia Brina Potvin, the First runner-up is Miss Teen Pennsylvania Kathryn McDonnell and the 2008 Miss Teen International is Gabriella Lopez from Alabama.
“She did not make it to the top ten, but we can be very, very proud of Ariel. She really did very well. There were a lot of nice compliments about her from many of the people here,” said her mom, Katherine Wheeler, while at the pageant.
“She held up great, always looked and dressed and acted her very best. She was always smiling and very friendly. This has been a great experience for her and I think she has ‘grown’ in leaps and bounds,” she said.
“She has had an awesome time and I have been super impressed with her. To Stellar Marianas, all the other sponsors, and everyone involved, we realize how much you have done in so many ways to make this happen. Wow! Thank you,” she added.
St. Clair will now concentrate on her platform for the reminder of the year, which is to help prevent child abuse and neglect here in the CNMI.
“Yes, we are very proud of her and we thank her for doing her very best in Chicago. She is going to be very busy for the rest of the year. She already has a booking with a Japanese film crew that will be here this weekend doing a two-hour show on Saipan,” said Stellar Marianas National Director Neda Camacho.
