Miss Calaveras 2019 places fifth at Miss California competition

Giuseppe Ricapito Jun 30, 2021 

Miss Calaveras 2019 Katherine Sharp (far right) and fourth runner-up for Miss California is pictured on stage Friday in Fresno at the end of the competition with (from left) third runner-up Katie Tessier (Miss Marin County), first runner-up Elizabeth Sartuche (Miss Orange County), Miss California Jazmin Avalos (Miss Los Angeles County), and second runner-up Maaikee Pronda (Miss Fountain Valley). Courtesy photo / Shannon Sharp

The first woman to represent Calaveras County in a Miss California pageant, who is lesbian, gender-fluid and has ADHD, placed fourth runner-up among 31 competitors from around the state.

"It was my very first time, so I was not expecting to make it as far as I did," said Katherine Sharp, 20, of Mountain Ranch. "It was really amazing because my goal going into it was just showing people in my county it could be done … The further you make it, the louder your voice is. I was reaching more people. That was my goal."

The Miss California competition, held over the past week in Fresno, was the culmination of an unexpected journey for Sharp — Miss Calaveras in 2019 and Calaveras Saddle Queen in 2018.

Now a student at the University of California, Los Angeles, Sharp entered into the competition with significantly less experience and a younger age than many of her peers, but her ability and poise allowed her to make it through two elimination rounds and into the finals.

"For right now, I'm devoting myself to my studies," said Sharp, who is seeking to earn a double-major in education and social transformation, as well as psychology. "If I go back, now that I know what to expect, I get to go with a better understanding of how it all works."

In an interview with The Union Democrat before the competition, Sharp was confident in her own abilities, but realistic in that her appearance and self-identity would likely set her apart from others.

Sharp is a lesbian and identifies as gender fluid, which falls under the umbrella of non-binary gender indenficiation in the LGBTQ designation. LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer. She came out to the public just after she won Miss Calaveras in 2019. Sharp also has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and developed an inclusive platform for the event to advocate for people with all kinds of disabilities in social spaces.

Miss Calaveras was her first pageant, which she entered because it was lacking participants.

The county did not have a Miss Calaveras 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the start of Miss California, the original 31 women were split into two groups, A and B, with Sharp in the second group, she said.

The Miss California website describes the competition as 94 years old and "changing with the times as women in society have evolved." It is a precursor to the Miss America competition.

The first part of the competition consisted of a 10-minute private interview in which she was quizzed on current events and politics, from universal healthcare to education policy and cannabis, and asked personal questions.

"Even on stage they ask really hot-button topics," she said. "They want to know you're prepared to face the press where they ask you a question like that."

Next was the preliminary competition, which began with one additional question that went unasked during the interview and was specific to each competitor. Sharp was asked, "what do you see when you look in the mirror?"

Sharp said she initially had to "buy some time" to think about a question she described as esoteric.

"I had to gather my thoughts about what she was really asking metaphorically," she said. "I had to see deeper than that, to who I am and what I care about, so I talked about my desire to go and step away from the mirror and go look at other people."

Next came a 30-second pitch about Sharp’s platform, which was disability inclusion in social spaces.

"I am committed to my platform and my initiative,” she said. “It is not just performative activism.”

Following that was the talent portion, during which Sharp engaged in a speed painting of "Rosie the Ribeter," the name of the frog that holds the world record at the Frog Jump. Sharp said she wrote her name in a graffiti-style font before spray painting the image.

"It was a tribute to my county," she said.

Next was a "red carpet look," where she wore a blue dress and made a walking pattern.

"The judges are told to ignore the actual dress on the potential cost and focus on the composure and confidence of the person wearing it," she said.

Sharp said she was the surprise winner of the red carpet event (as well as a $300 scholarship) and indicated she was earning high enough scores to move on into the next round.

"That night, it was a big deal that I won anything," she said.

On Friday, a final 11 competitors were selected. She said she believed she was out up until the final moment — her name was the last of the 11 announced.

The semi-finalis were almost equivalent to the preliminaries, though in this, they instead pulled a random topic from a bowl to comment on a social issue.

Sharp pulled immigration and said she noted racism toward people immigrating from different places and inequalities in treatment of immigrants from certain countries.

Once selected in the Top 5, a judge asked Sharp about how she planned to raise money for her initiative, she said.

The Top 5 selection is done by the judges alone, as opposed to the previous rounds, which are based on points, Sharp said.

"At that point I was already just ecstatic I had made it to the Top 5 at all," she said. "I definitely feel beyond fulfilled after last week."

Sharp hasn't made up her mind yet if she will compete in Miss Gold Country this year to seek a spot again, though she is considering it.

"There is a possibility that I will compete again in a different preliminary,” she said. “They want to see me back on the stage, maybe as Miss California someday.”

https://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/article_092b4a14-da00-11eb-95a1-2307d180f37e.html