EHT’s Kylie Gene Wright a karate instructor who also works at Prep’s Pizza
OCEAN CITY – A second-degree black belt karate instructor who takes college courses and slings pizza on the Ocean City Boardwalk was crowned the 2026 Miss New Jersey Saturday evening at the Music Pier.
Kylie Gene Wright, 20, of Egg Harbor Township, was chosen from among the 22 candidates after two nights of preliminaries.
Wright, who competed as Miss Cumberland County, used her exceptional karate skills to help win the title.
Miss Southern Maritime Parker McAllen was first runner-up, Miss Island Resort Ashley Greco was second runner-up, Miss Gloucester County Amanda Peacock was third runner-up and Miss Cape May County Isabella Freund was the fourth runner-up.
By mid-morning Sunday, as she dipped her toe into the Atlantic Ocean as part of a ritual with the return of the pageant to Ocean City, her victory had not yet sunk in.
“I keep reminding myself that I have to be in the moment, be present and really take it all in because all this is only happening once,” Wright said. Right when they announced her name Saturday night, “I think the first thing that I said was, ‘Me?’ I was totally stunned, but I just wanted to soak it all in.”
Wright has been part of the Miss America organization since she was 6 years old, so she is no stranger to pageants, although now she will reach the pinnacle because she will get to compete at Miss America.
“I did pageants when I was little. I started doing them again when I was 13 and have been doing them ever since. This is my second time at Miss New Jersey and I walked away with the crown,” she said, still sounding a bit in disbelief.
Wright said she enjoys the Miss America organization because of the “sisterhood and all the friends that I have made. The Miss New Jersey class of 2026 has been so inspiring and so kind to me. I absolutely love them and that sisterhood, the bonding. The little moments are what I’m going to remember forever.”
Wright is the East Coast Chapter president of The Ali Kemp Education Foundation – T.A.K.E. Defense, a national organization that empowers women through self-defense and safety education.
Chapter president is a new title for her. One of her goals is to get all 14 states on the East Coast. She has already brought T.A.K.E. Defense to New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
“I also aspire to hold a national role in the organization so that I can really make T.A.K.E. Defense the number one self-defense program for women in our nation,” she said.
Wright has been doing karate since she was 2 years old and used it to perform on the Music Pier stage and win the talent preliminary award at Miss New Jersey.
“A big part of karate is the self-defense aspect and using your skills and techniques to protect yourself and not to harm others, so self-defense has always been something that I’ve always felt really connected to,” she said. When she was 16, the executive director of T.A.K.E. Defense approached her and she learned her mother was an instructor for the organization. Wright became an instructor as well.
She graduated in 2024 from Egg Harbor Township High School. In addition to studying business administration and financial accounting at Atlantic Cape Community College, she is a full-time instructor at Amerikick karate studio in EHT and works at Prep’s Pizza on the boardwalk. “The best pizza on the boardwalk,” she notes.
And in addition to all that, she will be traveling the state as Miss New Jersey and preparing for the Miss America competition.
“I’m really looking forward to all the people that I’m going to meet and all the impact I’m going to have on them,” she said. She will be “connecting with them, sharing my mission, the T.A.K.E. Defense mission, and showing them that Miss New Jersey is an opportunity for growth, it’s an opportunity to find yourself like I have.”
After they dip their toe into the water as part of the tradition, the Miss New Jersey winners then kick up a little water. Wright added her own spin.
“I did my karate kick,” she said, laughing. “It was awesome.”
– STORY by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
– PHOTOS courtesy of RICHARD KRAUSS PHOTOGRAPHY
