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North Medford senior wins Miss Rogue Valley crown A strong performance at the piano paid off for Jessica Hall, 17, of Medford Saturday night. She was crowned Miss Rogue Valley of 2001 and also won the talent award during the 39th annual Miss Rogue Valley Scholarship Pageant, a Miss America preliminary. First runner-up was Leah Lewis, 18, of Ashland; second runner-up, Tanya Lunt, 20, a student at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, and third runner-up, Mical Sharp, 17 of Medford. They were selected before a capacity audience at the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater in Medford. Hall, a senior at North Medford High School, played an excerpt from Chopin�s "Nocture in D-Flat Major" as her talent performance. Contestants were also judged on interviews, evening gown and swimsuit competition. The new Miss Rogue Valley plans to pursue music education, hoping to earn a doctorate in piano performance. In an interview on stage she said promoting the value of music in education will be her platform as Miss Rogue Valley. She has been accepted by several universities but has not decided which to attend. Her parents are Michael and Anne Hall of Medford. Lewis, the first runner-up, sang "Via Dolorosa." Lunt performed a comic musical selection, "Sam, You Made the Pants Too Long" and Sharp sang "God Help the Outcasts" from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." Pageant director Jakki Wright filled in as emcee for the event. Katie O�Grady, who was Miss Rogue Valley of 1993, was scheduled to do the honors but was detained in Portland where she is working in a movie, "The Hunted." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.