Team Maryland

Members of “Team Maryland” who traveled to Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut in December to follow the journey of Miss Maryland Kayla Willing through the Miss America competition report she “represented our state wonderfully” earning at minimum $20,000 in scholarships including the Jean Bartel Scholarship for Military Awareness. While not a finalist, the 19-year-old daughter of Pastor Steve and Crystal Willing of Marion started on this journey after winning Miss Crustacean in 2020 and is only the second from the Eastern Shore to represent Maryland at Miss America. The 2021 graduate of Holly Grove Christian School is a Bible studies and communications major at Lancaster Bible College where she was also on the field hockey team. Crowned Miss America 2023 was Miss Wisconsin Grace Stanke, 20, a University of Wisconsin student studying nuclear engineering.