SAN BERNARDINO — There she is, Miss Cardinal 2018-2019.

Jhunelyn Parafina won the title Saturday evening in a competition that had eighteen Cardinal City senior ladies vying for the crown.

The 14th annual Miss Cardinal Pageant was held at Sturges Center for the Fine Arts in front of a packed audience of parents, students, teachers, and district and community dignitaries.

The 2018-2019 Miss Cardinal court also includes Sarah Garcia, first runner-up; Miranda Maestas, second runner-up; and Rosa Santana, Miss Cardinal City Ambassador.

Rosa Santana, Miss Cardinal Ambassador

Miranda Maestas, Second Runner-Up

Sarah Garcia, First Runner-Up

Jhunelyn Parafina, Miss Cardinal

An 11-judge panel decided the winner based on an opening dance number, on-stage introductions, passion-for-fashion wear, evening wear, and question-and-answer segments.

Passion-for-fashion, where contestants wear clothing symbolizing their passions, replaced the previous years’ athletic wear segment. Jamie Rios, the pageant director, changed the event to recognize that while not all contestants participate in athletics, they all have passions to celebrate and display.

Jhunelyn, Sarah, Miranda, and Rosa will represent San Bernardino High School in school, district, and community events and volunteer with numerous community service organizations throughout the 2018-2019 school year.

Notable Honors:

Miss Cardinal Top 10: Lucia Vejar, Karina Leanos, Karyna Robles, Sofia Dominguez, Rosa Santana, Biviana Vega, Emely Ruiz, Miranda Maestas, Jhunelyn Parafina, Sarah Garcia

Miss Cardinal Top 5: Karina Leanos, Karyna Robles, Miranda Maestas, Jhunelyn Parafina, Sarah Garcia

Awards:

• 4.5 GPA: Allysa Duque, Emely Ruiz, Jhunelyn Parafina
• Miss Congeniality: Allysa Duque
• People’s Choice: Katie Ortiz
• Most Photogenic: Lucia Vejar
• Coach’s Award: Jennifer Ramirez

Sound Bites:

• Karyna Robles ~ “Advice I would give to my younger self would be to not worry about what others think of me. All that matters is my experience, my view of myself, and all that I am lucky to have in my life.”
• Sofia Domiguez ~ “The biggest problem facing teens today is insecurity. We should all be confident and be ourselves. We are awesome.”
• Rosa Santana ~ “The lesson I’ve learned in this competition is to have confidence. Confidence can create a stronger, more unified community.”

The legacy I want to leave behind if I win Miss Cardinal is that I love this city. I want to learn more through community outreach and give back to my community. I want to be known as the woman who loves her city. ~ Sarah Garcia

• Biviana Vega ~ “The hardest sacrifice I have made as a result of being in Miss Cardinal is not being home and missing my family. It was worth it, but I missed my family and baby nephew.”
• Karina Leanos ~ “The legacy I want to leave if I win Miss Cardinal would be to show other shy, nervous girls that they can be confident too. I want to set an example for other young girls who want to participate, but might be too nervous to.”