A veteran and a newcomer were the winners in the second round of preliminary competitions at the annual Miss Mississippi Pageant Thursday night.

Miss Amory Molly May and Miss Historic Crossroads Asya Branch joined Wednesday night’s preliminary winners in a lineup of 44 women who head into the final preliminaries Friday. A winner is to be crowned Saturday.

May, who is from Houston, won a $500 scholarship for her vocal performance of “House of the Rising Sun.”

“I feel overjoyed and ecstatic and a little unbelievable,” May said after being named the preliminary winner in talent.

“I chose this song, just because I wanted to sing it. I know that sounds kind of simple and not very exciting, but I just wanted to,” she said. “The song tells a story, and I like songs that tell stories.”

Haley Reinhart on Season 10 of American Idol first performed May’s rendition of “House of the Rising Sun.”

“As soon as I heard her sing that, I said ‘I have to sing that sometime in my life.’ So when the opportunity arose, I said ‘that’s the only song I want to sing,’ and that was it and the rest is history.”

May, who is a second year competitor, and named as one of the top ten in the 2015 Miss Mississippi Pageant, was crowned Miss Mississippi’s Outstanding Teen in 2012.

Branch won a $400 scholarship for winning the swimsuit preliminary and gave her boxer/German shepherd mix dog credit for helping her keep fit.

“I get up at 7 a.m. and walk my dog. It is wonderful exercise to get your day going,” Branch said.

In addition to walking her dog, the 17-year-old from Booneville said she does try to eat healthy, and she enjoys exercising.

“My diet is nothing particular, but I do like to make sure I keep certain helpings of things like fruits and vegetables and meats. I like to even it out in portions.”

Branch said she also likes to do a lot of abdominal work and cardio.

“I was a dancer and ran track, so I was always moving and keeping your blood flowing,” she said.

Wednesday night’s preliminary winner in the talent phase of the competition was Miss Dixie Laura Lee Lewis. Miss Vicksburg Katie Busby won the swimsuit preliminary.

The preliminary competitions will resume at 8 p.m. tonight at the Vicksburg Convention Center. A composite score from the three preliminary competitions in talent, swimwear, evening wear, on-stage questions and off-stage interviews will determine who will be in the top 10, which will be announced at the beginning of the final competition Saturday night, and the 2016 Miss Mississippi will be crowned.

Tickets for the pageant are $40 for tonight and $50 for Saturday.

For more information, call 601-638-6746, visit missmississippipageant.com or download the Miss Mississippi mobile app, which will let you purchase tickets, vote on contestants, watch the live stream and receive important push notifications and updates.