Six months of hard work paid off for Lacie Choy as she was crowned Miss Hawaii USA 2019 Sunday night at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. Competing as Miss Waikiki USA, the 20-year-old University of Hawaii at Manoa student beat 24 other contestants to become the 57th woman to hold the title of Miss Hawaii USA since 1962.

“I never thought I would be here today,” Choy said, still on stage but taking a break from a seemingly endless series of post-pageant photos with pageant sponsors, judges, other VIPs, and various combinations of her fellow contestants. “I feel like it’s not even real. It hasn’t even sunken in yet, but I really excited to be here and I can’t wait for my year.”

>> Click here to see more photos from the evening.

The competition included two on-stage Q&A rounds, and Choy excelled in both. Contestants often struggle to answer the question they’re given without going off on tangents or reciting vague generalities. Choy stayed on point.

She said afterward that the evening gown competition was her favorite part of the pageant because she was involved in designing the gown she wore.

“I had so much fun walking down this runway in my dress that I made. I felt so beautiful and so happy,” she explained.

The gown — and Choy’s poise in modeling it — made her the winner in the evening gown category. She was also named Miss Photogenic and earned the title of Miss Popularity for selling the most tickets to the pageant.

Miss Ko Olina USA Brittany Ann Payne was first runner-up; she earned the Social Media Fan Vote Award with almost 47,000 votes cast on participating social media platforms. The second runner-up spot went to Miss Kakaako USA Stephanie Wang; she also received the Hospitality Award for selling the most ads in the souvenir pageant program book. Miss West Oahu USA Hali‘alani Parish was third runner-up; she tied with Miss Honolulu USA Steisha Sheather in the swimsuit category. The fourth runner-up, Miss Oahu USA Kayli Obrero, also tied with Parish and Sheather for a rare three-way win in the interview category.

Three other contestants were also award recipients. Miss Great Aloha Run USA Chloe Aquino took home the People’s Choice Award, Miss Manoa USA Breea Yamat was the recipient of the Director’s Award, and Miss Pearl City USA Nikita McElroy was voted Miss Congeniality.

A panel of five judges scored the contestants on their appearance in bikinis and evening gowns, and their ability to stay on point while answering questions on stage. The contestants’ scores also included the judges’ assessment of their conversational skills during private interviews earlier in the week.

The Miss Hawaii USA 2019 pageant will be televised at 8 p.m. Dec. 1 on KHON.