Madison Dent’s first year on the Jonesburg Homecoming court was a memorable one.

The Warrenton resident was crowned Homecoming queen and was named Miss Congeniality at the coronation on June 17 at Lions Park in Jonesburg. She was part of a court that included Autumn Marshall, Charis Riggs and Dakota Lohrmann.

Dent said she was glad she participated in this year’s homecoming queen contest just months before she starts her senior year at Warrenton High School.

“I had cousins run for this and they won in the past, so just seeing them do good really inspired me to do it.,” Dent said.

Marshall, who is from Jonesburg, finished first runner-up for the second year in a row. Last year, she was first runner-up to Bethany Slovensky, who will be a senior at Wellsville-Middletown High School this year.

“I knew the contestants last year, but I didn’t know them this year,” said Marshall, who will be a senior at Montgomery County High School this year. “So it was great to meet new people and have a different experience than I did last year. I was looking forward to it way more than last year.”

The Jonesburg Homecoming Queen is selected based on personal interview, portfolio, speech/talent, participation in parade, evening gown and Q & A session. With the win, Dent earned a $1,000 scholarship, a crown, a trophy and other great prizes.

Dent said her strong interviewing and talent skills helped her win the queen contest.

“Those are pretty important skills,” Dent said. “You just make yourself known out there. You can get far in life with that.”

Marshall was the only Montgomery County candidate in this year’s court. The others are from Warren County.

“We didn’t have enough contestants at first,” Marshall said. “But after we pulled a couple more people, we could finally do it, which we were very lucky to do. Last year, there were a couple of people from Montgomery. This year, there was someone from Warrenton, someone from Wright City and someone from Jonesburg. There was a great variety of people from around here.”

All of the contestants participated in a talent contest on June 16. Dent did a presentation on methods of injecting cattle.

“I’ve been showing steer since I was 8 years old, but I’ve been around cattle,” Dent said. “My family has a cattle farm. Being around that has really pushed me to do that.”

Marshall did a singing performance with MCHS music teacher Pam Walton playing the piano.

“I call her my mom,” said Marshall, who is a member of the high school choir. “She’s a beautiful person. I couldn’t do anything without her. She pushes me the best I can be. She takes care of me when I need her to and she’s always there for me.”

Also, Ella Brucks was crowned Jonesburg Homecoming Princess. Sophie Brucks – Ella’s sister – was first runner-up and Addyson Bethel was second runner-up. Monroe Andrews and Esther Lohrmann were the other members on the court.