It was quite a show. The fun went on for days in Jacksonville, right up to the suspenseful finals, when Haven Gaston of Sarasota, Fla., representing the Outerlimits in Bradenton, Fla., won the international title. Ms. Gaston, who was first runner-up at the 1996 event, won a prize package worth $66,000, including a Porsche Boxster. The first runner-up was Nicole Scena of Aurora, Colo., and the second runner-up was Paige Butcher of Perth, Australia. The third runner-up was Melissa Huggins of New York state, who was first runner-up in 1997. The fourth runner-up was Mandy Lane, the reigning Miss Illinois USA. Rebecca Switzer of Los Angeles won the Photogenic award and the Contestants' Choice award, and the Venus Spirit award went to Karen Lee of Michigan.
"A perfect 10," remarked someone with a good eye for figures. We would say a perfect X, or maybe even a perfect XI.
But judge for yourself. As the Romans would say, a picture is worth M words.
