Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 1, 1994                   TAG: 9407010108
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MELISSA CURTIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PRELIMINARY WINNERS 'NOT THROUGH'

And that was clear to the audience as she sang the show tune "I'm Not Through" Thursday night at the Roanoke Civic Center.

The performance made her the preliminary winner in the talent competition in the 41st annual Miss Virginia pageant.

"I feel incredible about it," said Moseley, winner of the Miss Virginia Peanut pageant. "This is a goal I've had since I was 3 years old."

And for the second year in a row, Andrea Ballengee, Miss Amherst County, captured the title in the preliminary swimsuit competition.

Both winners proudly walked down the runway, arm-in-arm with Miss Virginia 1993, Nancy Glisson, at the end of the pageant's first day of preliminary contests.

Moseley, an 18-year-old student at New York University, said she chose her piece because it was "something different".

And it was. Moseley, clad in a sparkling silver pantsuit, strutted all over the stage as she belted out the song and beamed smiles.

"I like doing sassy numbers, so this was something to show off my stuff," she said.

Moseley, who majors in drama therapy and sex education, said she is training in New York City to be a professional actress and singer. She said she has been singing since she was 10 years old.

"It's in my blood," she said.

Ballengee, a 20-year-old student at Virginia Tech, looked excited and relieved as her name was announced as the winner of the swimsuit competition in her third attempt to seize the Miss Virginia crown. Ballengee competed last year and when she was 17.

"We work so hard all year to see how it pays off..." she said. "This is just icing on the cake."

Both women said winning Thursday night has given them that "extra push" for the next two days of competition.

The Miss Virginia pageant continues tonight at 8 p.m. at the Roanoke Civic Center auditorium. Tickets, at $9.50, are available by calling the box office at 981-1201.