Photos: Get a Sneak Peek at the Miss America 2017 Contestants

Before we hear the words “There She Is, Miss America,” the 52 contestants vying for this year’s crown and scholarship money will undergo a rigorous two weeks of activities and pre-judging, which will culminate in the Sunday, Sept. 11 broadcast of the 2017 Miss America Competition.

Competing will be women from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.  They will be evaluated by a celebrity panel of judges in the following categories: Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit, Evening Wear, Talent, Interview and On-Stage questions.

This year’s judges include Grammy winner Ciara, entrepreneur Mark Cuban, Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas, actress Sara Foster (VH1’s Barely Famous), musician and actress Laura Marano, singer-songwriter Cole Swindell, and former Miss America Sharlene Wells Hawkes.

Pre-judging began on Tuesday evening, the first of three preliminary nights of judging, during which scholarship money was awarded. Miss Tennessee Grace Burgess was named preliminary Talent winner for her vocal performance of “Desperado,” earning a $2,000 scholarship. Wearing a pink Irene West swimsuit, Miss District of Columbia Cierra Jackson was awarded the preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness scholarship of $1,000.

During night two in the preliminary rounds, Miss Arkansas Savvy Shields was named preliminary Talent winner for her jazz dance performance to the song “Just Keep Moving the Line.” Savvy will receive a $2,000 scholarship. Also taking home scholarship money was  Miss Maryland Hannah Brewer, who was that night’s preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness, receiving a $1,000 scholarship.

The final night of the preliminary awarded Miss Michigan Arianna Quan the $2,000 as the preliminary Talent winner for her piano performance of “L’Ouette” by Glinka Balakirev. Also capturing the spotlight was Miss Ohio Alice Magoto, who was the preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness winner in a black Irene West swimsuit. Alice will receive a $1,000 scholarship.

The 2017 Miss America Competition, hosted by Chris Harrison and co-hosted by Sage Steele, airs Sunday, Sept. 11 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.