Miss Hawaii Lauren Cheape was named Thursday's preliminary Miss America winner in the talent category.
She impressed judges with her jump rope routine to the theme song of "Hawaii Five-O," according to the pageant. (To watch Cheape jumping rope to Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire," the the video on the left side of this page.)
Cheape, 23, of Mililani, HI earned a $2,000 scholarship for Thursday's performance.
The Mililani High School graduate and former Miss East Oahu is a student at the University of Hawaii. Her ambition is to earn a master's degree in business administration and become a film director.
Her academic honors include the Dean's List, University of Hawaii Scholar Athelete and Academy for Creative Media Film Award.
Cheape's pageant platform is C.A.R.E. Collegiate Athletes Reaching Everyone.
Miss America 2012 will be chosen on Saturday. The final night of competition and crowning will be broadcast live at 9 p.m. ET on the ABC television network, with a tape-delayed 9 p.m. PT broadcast for West Coast pageant fans.
For more information about the Miss America Organization, visit www.missamerica.org.
The Miss America Organization's Twitter account is @MissAmericaOrg.
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