U of L sent its second student in a row to the Miss USA pageant last night in Las Vegas. Kyle Hornback took her place as this year’s Miss Kentucky USA, competing in the 65th annual Miss USA Pageant with 51 other participants. Last year, Katie George represented Kentucky in the pageant.

Hornback’s history with pageants stems from an early age, as she’s been participating in them since she was a young girl. She also represented U of L as this year’s Miss Louisville.

She completed her sophomore year at the end of the Spring 2016 semester majoring in political science. Among her studies, involvement with SGA and being crowned Miss Kentucky USA, Hornback also had to prepare for her first Miss USA pageant.

Contestants for Miss USA compete in many segments, including a preliminary round that’s held a week before the pageant. There, a woman representing each state is judged and placed into the semifinalists round.

Contestants are then interviewed on worldly topics and judged again in swimsuit and evening gown attire. Based on these scores, the strongest contestants continue on.

Hornback has been preparing for the pageant for months.

She was a top 10 favorite by many sources and fans of the show, and received high marks for the bright yellow dress she donned for the evening gown walk. While she made it to the semifinalists, she was not among the top 15 contestants chosen.

Though her time as a Miss USA contestant has come to an end, her work isn’t finished. Hornback will return to Kentucky after the pageant to continue her reign as Miss Kentucky USA before next year’s competition. Some of Hornback’s duties as Miss Kentucky USA include speaking at meetings and conferences, acting as a public figure in the community and various charitable works like visiting hospitals and shelters.