Westmoreland Fair Queen a double winner

Presley Thomas of Mt. Pleasant Township turned out to be a winner on Friday when she was selected as the 2023 Westmoreland Fair Queen and then again on Sunday when she won first place in senior showmanship for rabbits at the fair.

“All of us girls (four in the fair queen court) are really excited. We’re becoming very close friends,” said Thomas, 16, who will be a junior at Mt. Pleasant Area High School this fall.

Raising rabbits is a family tradition. Thomas said that her mother, Jennifer Ludwig, also raised rabbits.

As Westmoreland Fair queen, she will compete in the Pennsylvania Fair Queen competition in Hershey in January.

As for her future, Thomas said she wants to remain connected to animals by becoming a veterinarian.

Sydney Markle, 16, who will be a junior at Hempfield Area High School this fall, was named the first runner-up. She also was a double winner this weekend, having won horse showmanship.

Markle said that she wants to pursue a course of study in pre-med in college or petroleum engineering.

Both girls were happy that their animals will be able to compete in the 4-H premier showmanship contest on Friday with all the other animals being shown at the fair. In the past, those winners of the rabbit showmanship could not compete against other animals, Thomas said.

Penn State University student Addison Heeter, 18, of Clarksburg, Indiana County, was named the fair princess, the same title she won at the 2022 Westmoreland Fair, when her twin sister, Emma, was named fair queen.

Ella Ciesielski, who will be a senior at Greater Latrobe High School, was named second runner-up.

The girls competing in the fair queen contest had to apply to enter the contest and state what the fair means to the community. They also had to answer the question of “why you should come to the fair,” Thomas said.