From the opening number to special performances, the D-Queen pageant took off April 8 and crowned three D-Queen idols.
The D-Queen pageant took place in the Cox Auditorium, and 10 contestants competed by performing an opening number, showcasing diverse talents and exhibiting evening wear.
The night ended with three claimed winners: senior Jordyn Hanevold was crowned second runner-up, senior Kristin Heywood was crowned runner-up, and junior Jill Wulfenstein took the victory as the 2014 D-Queen.
“I am so excited,” said Wulfenstein, an integrated studies major from Pahrump, Nev. “It doesn’t feel real yet, but I’m excited. It’s fun.”
Wulfenstein showed off her vocal talents as she sang a vocal solo to “Ain’t Misbehavin’” by Louis Armstrong.
“I really love to perform,” Wulfenstein said. “It just gives you a high that you can’t get anywhere else.”
Heywood, a communication major from Portland, Ore., and former Dixie State University volleyball player, played the piano and sang “Everything” by Michael Bublé.
“I knew I was probably going to do something musical because I couldn’t spike the ball on stage,” Heywood said. “So I just decided I’d do something more original.”
Hanevold, a communication major from Logandale, Nev., acted out a Saturday Night Live skit with DSU student Rhett Sullivan about cheerleading and life as a modern-day teenager.
“I always tell people, ‘When you don’t have a talent — when you don’t sing, you don’t dance, you don’t play an instrument — you’ve got to get creative,’” Hanevold said.
The pageant began as the group danced to “Team” by Lorde, and Wulfenstein said she enjoyed the opening number the most.
“My favorite part was the opening number because you get to be on stage with all these girls that you’ve worked really hard with,” Wulfenstein said. “You just get to feel the energy of the audience, and it just really gets you going. It’s really fun to get to be able to experience that with people [who] you’ve grown to really care about.”
The women then competed and showcased their many talents, including skits, Muay Tai routines and vocal performances.
During the evening wear category, contestants exhibited gowns from colorful mermaid dresses to purple dresses with camouflage designs.
The former D-Queens who attended the event took the stage that night and discussed the years they reigned as D-Queen and their favorite memories at Dixie State. The years ranged from 2012 to 1941.
Every woman spoke of a favorite moment she experienced at Dixie. Some of them included practical jokes of throwing pies in professors’ faces, meeting their husbands at the D-Week dance, and buying fake breasts for the D-Queen pageant (where one actually caved in during the event).
The majority of the former D-Queens had at least one positive recollection of D-Week, even if it was more than 70 years ago.
Kylee Young, 2013 D-Queen, later encouraged Wulfenstein and future D-Queens to cherish all of the time they have and to strive for a lasting legacy. She said the time goes fast, and the D-Queen needs to take advantage of every second.
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