Miss Old West Balloon Fest wins Miss Nebraska crown

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) - The winners of the 2025 Miss Nebraska and Miss Nebraska Teen have been announced.

A North Platte native is taking home the title of Miss Nebraska Teen. Miss Douglas County’s Teen, Gabriella Swift, has won the 2025 crown. Her talent was gymnastic dance and her platform focuses on support for eating disorder recovery.

“I want to advocate for eating disorder recovery and I want to be able to get a bill produced that insurance coverage has coverage in Nebraska for eating disorder treatment and so I am working with senators right now to get that finalized and produced next session,” said Swift. “I went through a hard time in my life, I was a gymnast and so after being a gymnast and being able to look in the mirror it was so difficult after all of that training all of that hard work and transitioning into high school sports. So being able to tell other girls that they can look beyond the mirror and not straight into to their reflection is so important to me.”

Swift graduated from Saint Patrick’s High School in May and will attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the fall.

Winning the title of Miss Nebraska is Miss Old West Balloon Fest, Makinzie Gregory, who was also the winner of the preliminary evening gown award on Thursday and the talent award on Friday. Gregory’s talent was dance and her platform is The Wellness Way: Educate, Power and Equip.

“I found that as healthcare providers we’re often pouring into other people and pouring into our patients and sometimes we forget to take care of ourselves,” Gregory said. “I forgot to take care of myself for a little bit and realized that all of our health is all encompassing, it’s not just one thing, it’s everything altogether and so I wanted to learn as much as I possibly could and I knew if I felt that way with my background in dance and healthcare that probably other people felt that way as well.

Rounding out the top 5 in the Miss Nebraska competition:

Alayna Wilson, Miss Douglas County - first runner-up

Ally Parker, Miss Dodge County - second runner-up

Jacee Pfeifer, Miss Omaha - third runner-up

Sierra Little, Miss Scotts Bluff County - fourth runner-up

Rounding out the top 5 in the Miss Teen competition:

Ella-Katherine Anderson, Miss Omaha’s Teen - first runner-up

Paige Dodson, Miss Chadron’s Teen - second runner-up

Emma Claire Fritz, Miss Fremont’s Teen - third runner-up

Cora Frans - fourth runner-up

Other winners include:

Jessica Schmidt, Miss Western Nebraska - Miss Congeniality

Emma Claire Fritz, Miss Fremont’s Teen - Miss Congeniality

Mary Foster, Miss Elkhorn - Heart of Miss Nebraska Award

Emma Clair Fritz, Miss Fremont’s Teen, Heart of Miss Nebraska Award

Jessica Schmidt, Miss Western Nebraska, Non-Finalist for Interview Category

Addi Peck, Miss Alliance’s Teen, Non-Finalist for Interview Category

Anna Meier, Miss Scotts Bluff County’s Teen, Non-Finalist for Interview Category

Leilani Catlett, Miss Phelps County’s Teen, Non-Finalist Talent Award

Sophie Kruse, Miss Chadron, Non-Finalist Talent Award