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Rutgers Student Crowned Miss New Jersey

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) — A Rutgers University student has been crowned Miss New Jersey.

Cierra Kaler-Jones of Galloway Township won the title Saturday night at the Ocean City Music Pier, beating out 23 other contestants. It was the fourth time she had competed in the pageant, and her platform this year was "empowering today's youth through arts education."

The first runner-up was Brenna Weick of Mantua.

The win gave Kaler-Jones a spot in the Miss America pageant, which will be held from Sept. 9-14 in Atlantic City. She will receive a $12,000 scholarship from the Miss New Jersey Education Foundation along with other prizes.

Last year's winner was Cara McCollum.

(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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