Miss Georgia Betty Cantrell crowned Miss America 2016 in Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Miss Georgia Betty Cantrell was crowned Miss America 2016 at a ceremony in Atlantic City Sunday night.

Cantrell, 21, is a graduate of Mount de Sales Academy and is now studying music education at Mercer University.

Miss New York won the Miss America title for the previous three years.

This year's first runnerup was Miss Mississippi Hannah Roberts. In third place was Miss Colorado Kelley Johnson.

The pageant aired live on ABC from Boardwalk Hall.

Former Miss America Vanessa Williams served as lead judge for Sunday's competition, which was hosted by Chris Harrison and Brooke Burke-Charvet. The program's music curator was Nick Jonas and celebrity judges were Brett Eldredge, Taya Kyle, Danica McKellar, Kevin O'Leary, Amy Purdy and Zendaya.