Miss America 2016 Contestants Flaunt Bikini Bodies and Show Talents at Preliminaries Before Pageant—See Pics!

The main competition takes place on Sept. 13 at 9/8c.

By Corinne Heller Sep 13, 2015 10:14 PMTags
2016 Miss America Competition Preliminaries, Miss Iowa, Taylor Wiebers Donald Kravitz/Getty Images

Before one of 52 lovely ladies will be crowned Miss America 2016, the group took part in some dress rehearsals, so to speak, at the pageant's preliminaries.

The contestants flaunted their bikini bodies in colorful swimsuits for the Lifestyle and Fitness contests and demonstrated their creative talents at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey last week. The preliminaries took place over two days and several winners were chosen.

Miss South Carolina, Daja Dial, wearing a turquoise bikini, Miss Florida, MaryKatherine Fechte, wearing a white one, and Miss Iowa, Taylor Wiebers, wearing a blue two-piece swimsuit, in blue, were named winners of the preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness contests and will receive $1,000 scholarships. (See more photos of the Miss America 2016 contestants in bikinis before the main pageant).

Donald Kravitz/Getty Images
Donald Kravitz/Getty Images
Watch: Mallory Hagan's Year as Miss America 2013

Wiebers, Miss Louisiana, April Nelson, and Miss Georgia, Betty Cantrell, all won the preliminary talent competitions. Cantrell sang an operatic vocal performance of "Tu Tu Piccolo Iddio," Nelson sang "Climb Every Mountain" from the musical The Sound of Music and Wiebers performed "Don't Forget Me" from the musical drama series Smash. The three will receive $2,000 scholarships.

The Bachelor host Chris Harrison is hosting the Miss America 2016 pageant, which airs live on ABC on Sunday at 9/8c.