Severe knee injuries didn’t stop Myrrhanda Jones from placing in the top five at the Miss America pageant Sunday night.
The 20-year-old UF telecommunication junior modeled in a zebra bikini, stunned in a pearl white gown and performed her baton twirling routine as Miss Florida with one more accessory — a bejeweled knee brace — at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., earning third runner-up and a $15,000 scholarship.
Jones fell during rehearsal Thursday, resulting in a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a partially torn medial collateral ligament.
Just eight hours after a rush to the emergency room on a stretcher, she was back on stage to win the talent preliminary competition.
Sorority sisters of Jones, a member of Delta Delta Delta (ΔΔΔ), supported her near and far Sunday night.
Lexie Byers, a 19-year-old UF public relations sophomore, helped coordinate a watch party in the Delta Delta Delta media room to support her big sister, Jones.
Nearly 1,000 miles away, 20-year-old UF telecommunication sophomore Taylor Nones and 19-year-old UF public relations sophomore Jana Berkowitz cheered on their sorority sister from Boardwalk Hall. The pair planned to fly to New Jersey for the pageant when Jones won Miss Florida in July.
“Not even anything as crazy as a torn ACL is gonna stop her,” Nones said.
A version of this story ran on page 1 on 9/16/2013 under the headline "Despite injuries, UF student dazzles in Miss America"
- Miss New York: Nina Davuluri
- Miss California: Crystal Lee
- Miss Oklahoma: Kelsey Griswold
- Miss Florida: Myrrhanda Jones
- Miss Minnesota: Rebecca Yeh
