Tyler DuBovy and Colleen Benko (Marymount) were voted Mr. and Miss Palisades last Wednesday evening in the annual Youth Pageant competition, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce at Pierson Playhouse. Competing against eight other teenagers who live in Pacific Palisades, 16-year-old DuBovy, a student at Pacifica Christian High, and Benko, a sophomore at Marymount, each received $2,000 college stipends from the Cathie Wishnick Scholarship Fund. DuBovy, an Eagle Scout in Troop 223 who referees AYSO soccer games six hours a week, impressed the judges with his flawless, rapid-fire delivery of ‘Ya Got Trouble [in River City]’ from ‘The Music Man.’ Benko, a pianist who was student body president at Corpus Christi School and will be editor of the Marymount school newspaper next year, scored high in the talent presentation with Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C minor. Contestants were judged on their talent, poise, communication skills (during a live interview with co-emcees Sam Lagana and Cathie Wishnick) and character. Other contestants included five Palisades High students (Kirsten Legaspi, Katie Lantz, Sarah Williams, Jared Loptman and Brett Sobel), plus Jennie Ostendorf (Brentwood School), Rebecca Ouligian (Oaks Christian) and Alex Lehrhoff (Windward School). The judges were actress and environmental activist Alexandra Paul; music producer Wil Sharpe; actress Denise Crosby; noted piano teacher Hedy Ciani; and Greg Bonann, creator and executive producer of ‘Baywatch.’ Carol Smolinisky oversaw the entire production and wrote the evening’s script, as she has done for nearly 15 years, and was assisted by choreographer Thea White of Seven Arrows Elementary School. At intermission, former Miss Palisades Emily Kay choreographed three dances for members of her Fancy Feet troupe in honor of the late John Scherrer, a longtime pageant committee member and youth advocate who died last year. The reigning youth for 2006, Genna Rochlin (a singer) and Alex Ouligian (a pianist), gave farewell performances while the judges’ scorecards were tallied. As an extra bonus, 19-year-old Meriette Saglie, a former Palisades resident who has returned to town with her mother Edith after studying piano in Austria and Chile, played pieces by Schumann and Prokofiev. Her three older brothers are all past winners of the Mr. Palisades title.
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