Five young women showed they had what it takes Saturday to prepare for their futures during the 2018 Distinguished Young Women scholarship program.

The event, conducted in the auditorium at Brownstown Central High School, is a scholarship program in which young women compete against each other in several categories including self expression and talent.

At the end of the night, Maggie Rohlfing received the ultimate award — a $1,700 scholarship and the title of 2018 Jackson County Distinguished Young Woman.

“It feels so rewarding [to win],” said Rohlfing, who attends Brownstown Central High School. “I definitely couldn’t have done it without the encouragement from the other contestants. We didn’t know each other when we started, but through this we’ve gotten a lot closer.”

Rohlfing said she was a “Little” or “Little Sister” with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southeast Indiana this past year and that’s where she found about the Distinguished Young Woman contest.

Jennifer Runge, also a student at Brownstown Central, finished first runner-up and earned a $1,000 scholarship, while The Warren Silver Spirit Award went to Jenna O’Neal, a Seymour High School student.

The young women were evaluated by a panel of five judges in the following categories — scholastics (25 percent), interview (25 percent), talent (20 percent), fitness (15 percent) and self-expression (15 percent).

The first-place contestant in each category received $200.

Runge received $400 for finishing first in the physical fitness and scholastic categories.

Physical fitness required each participant to memorize a workout routine together and then perform the routine accurately and energetically for the judges Saturday.

Judges were given access to the contestant’s scholastic transcripts prior to Saturday and used them to determine the overall scholastic ability of the individuals.

In the talent category, Claire Smith won $200. for her rendition of Puerto Rican singer and songwriter Louis Fonsi’s “Despecito” on the piano. Smith also is a student at Brownstown Central High School

Crothersville High School student Kaitlyn Silvers sang Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb;” Runge performed a dance to Ruth B.’s “Lost Boy;” Rohlfing performed a dance to Yiruma’s “Kiss the Rain”; and O’Neal sang Alicia Keyes’ “If I Ain’t Got You.”

Rohlfing also won the self-expression category netting her an additional $200 scholarship. In that category, judges ask a single question in an effort to help them find out more about who young woman.

This year the question was “What should every woman carry in her purse?”

“We do this for the girls,” said Barb Leffler, who was in charge of the event. “It helps them earn scholarship money for college and it brings girls from different schools together who might never have met otherwise.”

Rohlfing will now compete in the 2018 Distinguished Young Women of Indiana Scholarship Program, which begins Feb. 11, 2018, and ends Feb. 17, 2018, at Havens Auditorium at Indiana University Kokomo. The participant selected as the Distinguished Young Woman of Indiana will advance to the 61st Distinguished Young Women National Finals in June 2018 in Mobile, Alabama.

Rohlfing joins a strong field of previous list from Jackson County since the program began 23 years ago. That list includes Katie Stam Irk, formerly of Seymour, who went on the be runner-up in the state contest and Miss America in 2009 and Deven Wayman Shirley, formerly of Medora, who won the state’s Junior Miss competition. This past year’s winner was Alexis Koch of Brownstown.

Leffler said organizers are always looking for sponsors and volunteers for competition that began in 1992 as the Jackson County Junior Miss Scholarship program.