New Miss Montana Hopes to Break Past Top 15 Barrier in Miss USA Pagent

Flathead Valley resident Kadie Latimer is Miss Montana 2014, and she's hoping to be the first Montanan to be crowned Miss USA. Before she takes the big prize though, she'll have to break through some barriers that Montana contestants have never been able to best.

"There's never been a Montana contestant break top 15," Latimer said. "So I'm hoping that I've worked hard enough to make top 15 this year and make history, for Montana."

Latimer says she has had to practice wearing high heels a lot, something she doesn't do all that often. In fact, she doesn't compete in pageants much at all. The Miss Montana competition she recently won was her first foray into the pageant world.

According to Latimer, her family has been the secret to her success.

"My family have been so supportive through this whole, entire thing," Latimer said. "My older sister is basically my manager through this entire thing. She's kept me organized, she's made posters for me, she's made autograph cards for me, so she's really helped me out. [My little sister] has basically been my personal trainer throughout this whole experience, she's really pushed me to be in the best shape of my entire life, so hopefully that shows on state. My parents have just helped me immensely. They live here in Kalispell, and they help me every night with mock interviews, they ask me questions every night, they really keep me on top of things. It's just really been a family affair."

The preliminary competition is on Wednesday, June 4 and can be viewed on the Miss USA website.  Latimer hopes all Montanans will be able to catch the finals on Sunday, June 8 when the top 15 contestants will be decided. The broadcast will be carried on NBC.

Kadie Latimer: