PHOTOS BY REBEKAH DELL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
OPENING NIGHT … Contestants in the 2026 Miss Edgerton Pageant gather on stage during the opening of Saturday evening’s competition at the Edgerton School Annex. VIEW PHOTOS OF THIS EVENT FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
2026 ROYALTY … The newly crowned 2026 Edgerton royalty pose together following Saturday evening’s pageant. Front: Little Miss Edgerton Reyah Sheets and Junior Miss Edgerton Paige Hobeck. Back: Teen Miss Edgerton Leighton Showalter, Miss Edgerton Kaydance Hobeck, and Edgerton Queen of Queens Felicity Thiel.
CROWNING WALK … Kaydance Hobeck takes her walk as the newly crowned 2026 Miss Edgerton.
QUEEN OF QUEENS … Felicity Thiel is crowned the 2026 Edgerton Queen of Queens in recognition of her volunteer service during her reign as 2025 Miss Edgerton.
JUNIOR MISS… Paige Hobeck reacts after being crowned 2026 Junior Miss Edgerton.
By: Rebekah Dell
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
Contestants took the stage before an enthusiastic crowd during the 2026 Miss Edgerton Pageant on Saturday, July 11, at 6 p.m. at the Edgerton School Annex.
Decorated in patriotic red, white, and blue, the venue welcomed family and community members for an evening celebrating the accomplishments and talents of local youth.
Emceed by Dawn Sheline, the pageant opened with the presentation of the 2026 contestants, followed by the introduction of the judges and contestant introductions.
Teen Miss and Miss contestants also shared their community concentration presentations before the talent competition.
In the Miss division, sophomore Kaydance Hobeck performed a lyrical dance to “California” by Chappell Roan, while senior Claire Gendron presented an American Sign Language interpretation to a song by Lauren Daigle.
Following the talent competition, contestants participated in the formal wear and question-and-answer portions of the evening before judges made their final decisions.
One of the evening’s lighter moments came during the Little Miss question-and-answer when contestant Reyah Sheets was asked what animal she would be and why. Reyah quickly replied, “A cat because I’m always angry,” drawing laughter from the audience.
Outgoing royalty were also recognized during the evening. Each queen shared a farewell before being escorted by her father.
Honored were 2025 Edgerton Queen of Queens Leighton Showalter, Miss Edgerton Felicity Thiel, Teen Miss Edgerton Abigail Krill, Junior Miss Edgerton Harper Nowak, and Little Miss Edgerton Everleigh Dargitz.
The Little Miss division featured one contestant, first-grader Reyah Sheets, who was crowned 2026 Little Miss Edgerton.
Three contestants competed in the Junior Miss division. Fourth-grader Alexis Barton was named second runner-up, fourth-grader Grace Waikel was selected as first runner-up, and fifth-grader Paige Hobeck was crowned 2026 Junior Miss Edgerton.
Grace Waikel also received the Best Interview award, while Paige Hobeck earned Miss Photogenic and Miss Congeniality honors.
The Teen Miss division featured seventh-graders Leighton Showalter and Loretta Roberts. Roberts was named first runner-up, while Showalter was crowned 2026 Teen Miss Edgerton. Showalter also received Best Interview, Miss Photogenic, and Miss Congeniality honors.
In the Miss division, Claire Gendron was named first runner-up while also earning the Best Interview, Miss Congeniality, People’s Choice, and Most 50/50 Ticket Sales awards.
Kaydance Hobeck was crowned 2026 Miss Edgerton after also receiving Miss Photogenic and Best Talent honors for her lyrical dance performance.
The evening also included the crowning of the 2026 Edgerton Queen of Queens. The honor was presented to 2025 Miss Edgerton Felicity Thiel in recognition of her volunteer service throughout her year of representing the community.
The Queen of Queens distinction is awarded annually to the reigning queen who records the most volunteer hours during her year of service.
The evening concluded with the presentation of awards and the crowning of the 2026 titleholders, who will represent Edgerton at community events and celebrations throughout the coming year.
