Madyson Rigg will represent Montana in the upcoming Miss Teen USA competition.

The recent Glacier High School graduate was crowned Miss Montana Teen USA last fall, qualifying her for the national competition Aug.1-2 in the Bahamas. 

Rigg said she is excited to compete with her family cheering her on in the audience.

“Almost all of my family is going,” Rigg said. “To have your family and friends cheering you on is an incredible feeling.”

The 18-year-old will first participate in a preliminary competition referred to as a presentation show, where contestants will be narrowed down to compete in the finals.

Both the presentation show and final competition will stream live at www.missteenusa.com. The presentation show will begin at 6 p.m. Aug. 1. The final competition will start at 6 p.m. Aug. 2.

Contestants will be judged in swimsuit, evening gown and interview categories. 

Rigg said she is traveling to Salt Lake City to buy a gown for the pageant but can’t reveal what it will look like until the competition. She also will go to Seattle to train and prepare for the national competition.

Competing in pageants is a fairly new endeavor for Rigg. Her first competition was in 2012 at Miss Montana Teen USA where she was fourth runner-up.

“I had tried out for volleyball and didn’t make the team and I needed something to do,” Rigg said.

She received a circular from the pageant organization and thought, “Why not?” 

As part of her reign as Miss Montana USA, Rigg has spent her time making appearances at different area events and was involved in the local Save a Sister breast cancer awareness program.

During high school, Rigg was involved in Business Professionals of America, DECA, a marketing club, and speech and debate. Currently, she is pursuing a career in modeling.

Rigg is the daughter of Ann and Robert Rigg.

For more information about Miss Montana Teen USA, visit www.missmontanausa.com.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.