L-R: top five contestants at the Miss Dixie State University pageant were third attendant McKenna Hodge, first attendant Kodi Jo McKinley, winner Ella Barlow, second attendant Bergen Nelson, and fourth attendant Kassidee Graff, St. George Utah, Oct. 24, 2017 | Photo courtesy of Dixie State University, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Ella Barlow, a sophomore biology major from Eagle Mountain, was crowned the winner of the Miss Dixie State University pageant Tuesday evening.

Competing with the platform of “You are More” and singing “Gimme, Gimme” as her talent, Barlow beat 17 other Dixie State University students for the crown. She will receive a full tuition scholarship for 2017-18, with a value of $4,308, according to DSU officials.

“I want to thank everyone who came and supported me tonight. I’m honored to serve as your new Miss Dixie 2018,” Barlow wrote in a post to Twitter shortly after her victory.

Barlow, who succeeds Kelby Morrison as the reigning Miss Dixie State University, is also eligible to compete in the 2018 Miss Utah pageant, a forerunner to the Miss America pageant.

The following four contestants received runner-up royalty honors at the pageant: Kodi Jo McKinley, a biology major and jazz dancer from Aurora, was named first attendant; Bergen Nelson of St. George, an exercise science major who played a version of “Chopsticks” on the piano for her talent, was named second attendant; McKenna Hodge of Hurricane, a theater major who performed a jazz dance, was named third attendant; and Kassidee Graff of St. George, a dental hygiene major who also performed a dance, was named fourth attendant.

The university’s next pageant will be the Miss Native Dixie State University, scheduled for Nov. 1.