OCEAN CITY — “It feels amazing. I’ve been going to this since I was a little girl and this is the ultimate prize. I get to represent the town that I was raised in — my favorite place, my home — and I am really excited for the year coming,” Lola DeMarco said after being crowned Miss Ocean City 2024 on Aug. 12 at the Ocean City Music Pier.
DeMarco, 17, a rising senior at Ocean City High School, won the swimsuit, poise and People’s Choice awards to secure the title.
The island resident said she competed in Little Miss Ocean City and Junior Miss Ocean City a total of four times.
“The best I ever did was second runner up, so this is a big jump,” DeMarco said.
Father Jamie DeMarco, along with siblings Kai, 22, Keely, 21, and Shea, 18, were in attendance to witness the crowning achievement. Unfortunately her mother, Kim, lost her battle with breast cancer last year and was not.
“Kim couldn’t have been prouder of Lola,” Jamie DeMarco said, showing off a picture of his wife and daughter when she was second runner up in the Little Miss Ocean City pageant. “It would mean the world to Kim to know Lola won. She was so proud of Lola always. It means so much to me for Kim.”
DeMarco is an experienced dancer and cheerleader for the Ocean City Red Raiders. She danced from 3 years old to 14 before taking a break.
“I have a background in almost every style of dance,” she said.
Wearing a short purple dress with spaghetti straps, DeMarco performed a lyrical dance to “Let Her Go” by Passenger that she dedicated to her mother, showing off her long arms and legs in an elegant dance that mixed ballet with gymnastics moves.
“It was one of my mom’s favorite songs and it was pretty relevant to losing somebody, so I chose that one so she could be with me on stage and I really feel like she was,” DeMarco said. “I definitely feel like she was looking down on me and I wanted to make her proud.”
Natalie Argento, a former Junior Miss Ocean City and first runner up in last year’s competition, was first runner up; Ella Quintin was second runner up and Katie Worchell was third runner up.
The pageant had a travel theme — each contestant was assigned a passport number — and opened with a group dance, the young ladies outfitted like flight attendants to the tune of “Catch Me if You Can.”
Each of the nine contestants then introduced themselves in a video presentation. They competed in private interview, talent, swimsuit, poise and on-stage question.
This year’s contestants also included Samantha Beckman, Paloma Chevere, Katie McAllister, Brielle McDowell and Maddie Rosetti.
The talent portion of the contest was the most highly anticipated and did not disappoint.
McDowell, in a black sequined long-sleeve top and shorts, performed a jazz routine using a chair as a prop. Chevere performed a hip-hop dance in the shiny red outfit with gloves.
Argento sang “New York State of Mind” wearing a full-length green dress.
Worchell did a jazz routine to “How Will I Know?” in a blue dress with fringes reminiscent of the 1920s flappers.
Wearing a black and burgundy outfit and mixing in a lot of gymnastics moves, Beckman danced to a cover of a Michael Jackson song.
Quintin, wearing a light tan long-sleeve dress, danced to “Rescue” by Lauren Daigle, showing off some ballet moves mixed with gymnastics.
Rosetti performed a jazz dance to “Let Me Move You” in a pink top with black pants.
Wearing a shiny silver cocktail dress, McAllister sand “Part of Your World” from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”
Miss Ocean City and her crown sisters Little Miss Ocean City and Junior Miss Ocean City serve as ambassadors for the city, attending every conceivable function from judging the hermit crab beauty contest to saltwater taffy sculpting, joining the bold and the brave during the First Dip and First Day festivities and helping usher in summer with the Unlocking of the Ocean and Business Persons Plunge.
DeMarco said the thing she is most excited about is crowning Little Miss Ocean City on Aug. 18.
“I babysit a lot of Little Misses and I am really excited to see who wins,” DeMarco said.
The pageant also provides an opportunity for the outgoing misses to perform together and independently.
Wearing a sleeveless pink sundress, Miss Ocean City 2023 Grace Oves was joined by Junior Miss Ocean City Antonella DiAntonio and Little Miss Ocean City Lyla Clark in dancing to “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge. Later, outfitted in a blue leotard, Oves performed her final dance to Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”
Judges were Pam Traflet, Dominque Jones, Elizabeth Lombard, Mandy Scanolon and Ashley Myers. Miss Ocean City 2014 Carley Del Sordo served as the emcee and Aggie Becker was choreographer.
Award winners
Interview — Natalie Argento
Talent — Ella Quintin
Swimsuit — Lola DeMarco
Poise — Lola DeMarco
Eileen Parks Hostess Award — Brielle McDowell
People’s Choice — Lola DeMarco
Academic excellence — Katie Worchel
Leadership and Service — Katie Worchel
Miss Congeniality — Katie Worchel
Most ad book sales — Natalie Argento
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
