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

DATE: SATURDAY, July 1, 1995                   TAG: 9507030069
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SHANNON D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PRELIMINARY WINNERS PLAY, POSE TOWARD CROWN

Jana Wright says she loves to play the piano in front of big audiences. Friday night, in front of one of the largest crowds that she's ever performed before, she played her way to win the preliminary talent competition of the Miss Virginia Pageant.

The pageant will end tonight after one of 10 finalists is crowned the new Miss Virginia.

Wright, the 23-year-old Miss Pittsylvania County, played Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No.6.

She chose the piece because of its articulation, said Wright, who has played the piano since the age of 4. Wright likes to get her adrenaline flowing during a performance, and the rhapsody was a perfect number to do just that, she said.

``I felt pure excitement'' during the performance, Wright said.

In the swimsuit competition, Miss Virginia Beach, Amber Medlin, strode to the second preliminary win of the night.

Medlin, a 1994 graduate of Radford University, said she has worked out on a treadmill every day while in Roanoke to prepare for the competition and feels more physically fit than she ever has.

``It's a wonderful motivation'' to win the preliminary, Medlin said.

Medlin also was able to share a part of her platform during the evening gown competition. She wants to further her work with the mentally disabled, ``teaching healthy children about the disabled,'' she said. Medlin worked with the mentally disabled during her four years at Radford.

Medlin and Wright hope their preliminary success can last during tonight's crowning. The winner will go on to compete in the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, N.J., on Sept. 16.

The reigning Miss Virginia, Cullen Johnson, said she was a little sad at the beginning of the week about giving up her crown tonight. But the excitement of the pageant has helped her get over that, she said.

``I am really into the anticipation of crowning the new Miss Virginia,'' Johnson said.

What will she miss most about the title? Meeting people all over the state and country, she said.

``It's not often you get an opportunity like that,'' she said.

Tonight's competition will begin at 9 in the Roanoke Civic Center Auditorium. Tickets are $15 for reserved seats and $8.50 for balcony seats. They are available by calling 981-1201.

by CNB