By Donald B. Kravitz
Twenty-five year old Cape May Court House resident, Alyssa Sullivan took the stage at Resorts Casino Hotel among 31 additional contestants. She appeared on the First Night of Preliminaries in the On Stage Question/Impact Pitch and Red Carpet (Evening Gown). At he end of the evening, Alyssa Sullivan had been selected the winner of the On Stage Question/Impact Pitch category, beginning her hopes of winning the crown.
The second night of Preliminaries Sullivan performed a vocal in the Talent portion of the competition and once again, when all the votes were tallied, Alyssa Sullivan was once again selected the winner in Talent.
Finals night, Saturday June 19, 2021 brought all 32 competitors to the stage as the judges selected the final ten which included Sullivan and an additional contestant as the People’s Choice making the field the final eleven.
All eleven competitors faced off in The On Stage Question/Impact Pitch, Red Carpet (Evening Gown) and Talent portions of the pageant. When all the performances were completed, it became incumbent on the 7 judges to pare down from the Top Eleven to the Top Five contestants. With the announcement of Sullivan, who had been selected as one of the Final Five, they moved on to the last category, the on stage question from the judges. Alyssa Sullivan had finished in the Top Five in the 2019 Miss New Jersey Competition but was not selected as Miss New Jersey.
As the Top Five stood on stage, waiting to hear their name called as 4th Runner-Up; 3rd Runner-up; 2nd Runner-up finally narrowing the choice down to who would be the 1st Runner-Up and who would be chosen Miss New Jersey 2021, the 2 finalists, Miss Seaside Counties 2021 Thushara Korattyil and Miss Seashore Line 2021 Alyssa Sullivan stood facing each other in a hug and waited for a name to be announced.
The emcee spoke slowly and clearly when rendering the judges decision that the 1st Runner-Up was Miss Seaside Counties 2021, Thushara Korattyil and winner of the competition for Miss New Jersey 2021 was Miss Seashore Line 2021 … Alyssa Sullivan. It took a minute for the announcement to take hold by Sullivan, but when it did, she descended down on the floor in disbelief. What she had worked so hard to achieve had finally become a reality and she had reached her goal. So, in closing, we say Congratulations to Miss New Jersey 2021, Alyssa Sullivan which serves as a testament to your tenacity that you undoubtedly will bring to your role of Miss New Jersey 2021!
Donald B. Kravitz is an Entertainment & Special Events photographer for national publications including Getty Images & Miss America
