It was a rare occurrence Thursday night during the second round of Miss Mississippi preliminaries as three contestants took home talent awards.

Miss West Central Catherine Carter, Miss Clinton Taryn Foshee and Miss Mid South Angela Allen each received a $400 scholarship after tying in the talent competition, an event executive director David Blackledge said he’s never seen since he took the position in 1994.

Carter, 20, of Jackson, is a first-time competitor this year, and she said she chose to sing “Unchained Melody” because it’s a classic song she can perform from her soul.

“It has such emotion,” she said. “I’ve been singing since I could talk, and this was a song I’ve always loved, and my dad and voice teacher encouraged me to do it.”

Foshee, 20, is competing for her third time this year and also won the preliminary competition in last year’s pageant.

She said she’s been working on her piano piece, Liberace’s “El Cumbanchero,” since March.

“We couldn’t find a musical arrangement to accompany it, so we had to write that from scratch. It adds excitement to the piece for the crowd,” she said.

Allen, who won the swimwear competition in Wednesday’s preliminaries, said her song, “Let Him Fly,” was chosen in December. She said she thinks it sends a good message of saying goodbye to someone you love, and it’s a song she can feel from her heart every time she sings it.

“It’s definitely the best talent selection I’ve ever done,” said Allen, a third-time competitor.

As for winning two preliminary competitions thus far, Allen said she won’t take it as anything but good luck.

“It’s very surreal. I was shocked to hear my name called. Once again, hard work pays off,” she said.

Preliminary scores are used to select a Top 10 for Saturday’s finale.

In Wednesday’s first round of preliminaries, Miss New South Lacey Cofield won talent.

Miss Leaf River Valley Natalie Goldman of Meridian won Thursday’s swimwear preliminary.

A first-time competitor, Goldman said her win was completely unexpected.

“I feel awesome. It’s really funny because I’ve eaten whatever I’ve wanted all week long because I have to keep my energy up to dance,” she said.

Goldman, 20, said she usually runs and swims every morning in addition to dancing, which is her major at the University of Southern Mississippi.

“I just stay very active. That’s the trick,” she said.

In tonight’s final preliminary competition at 8, Group A will compete in swimwear and casual wear, Group B in evening wear and on-stage questions and Group C in talent.

The final competition Saturday will be telecast on WLBT-TV3, and the winner will compete in the Miss America pageant in January.

There are 42 contestants in this year’s pageant, the 47th in Vicksburg, and more than $132,000 in scholarships will be awarded to the contestants.