{"id":7945,"date":"2013-07-07T20:59:05","date_gmt":"2013-07-08T01:59:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?p=7945"},"modified":"2015-11-12T08:30:00","modified_gmt":"2015-11-12T14:30:00","slug":"top-seven-uwm-runner-named-new-miss-wisconsin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/top-seven-uwm-runner-named-new-miss-wisconsin\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Top Seven\u2019 51ÁÔÆæ runner named new Miss Wisconsin"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Paula<\/a>
Paula Kuiper reacts to being crowned the new Miss Wisconsin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student-athlete Paula Kuiper is the new Miss Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

The cross-country and track and field standout claimed the honor in Oshkosh last weekend, and will now compete in the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City this September.<\/p>\n

Kuiper will also travel the state for the next year, promoting her platform: Breaking the Age Barrier.<\/p>\n

That moment on June 26 when her name was announced is one she’ll never forget.<\/p>\n

“I was standing there with Miss Kenosha, Caitlin Schober. I looked at her and I said, ‘I just want to let you know, if you’re Miss Wisconsin, I will be so happy for you.’ At that moment we just had a sense of peace come over us,” Kuiper says.<\/p>\n

“Then the emcee said, ‘And the first runner up is…a very important person,’ and everyone is like come on, seriously. Then he did name the first runner up was Caitlin and I just screamed. I couldn’t even tell you what went through my mind but it was a moment I will never forget, that’s for sure.”<\/p>\n

A Racine native, Kuiper won the Miss Racine Pageant in 2012 and the Miss Madison\/Capital City Pageant in 2013. As a 51ÁÔÆæ freshman this past year she competed in five cross-country races, finishing in the top seven twice. She then redshirted in the track season to maintain freshman eligibility in that sport.<\/p>\n