One of Michiana’s own has taken the crown at the 2017 Mrs. America pageant.

Former Miss Indiana Mekayla Diehl-Eppers once made headlines for not having a typical “skinny” model body-type. Now, she’s making headlines by winning the Mrs. America pageant.

She told 95.3 MNC’s Mark McGill Monday morning about her experience at the pageant.

“It just went fast,” Diehl-Eppers said. “If anybody’s been on any production on stage – dance recital, musical choirs, whatever it is – it just goes by so fast. You feel like you don’t really have a second to really think, you’re on auto-pilot the whole way through, praying your muscle memory from rehearsal kicks in. It’s mass chaos. The costumes…some of these women brought out costumes that were the size of my car!

The win surprised Diehl-Eppers a bit, as she was grateful just to be in the top half of the competition.

“Being named in the top-15 was an honor,” Diehl-Eppers said. “To be a semi-finalist in a national pageant…you get to perform again on finals night when everyone’s watching and you’re family’s there. I love to walk in heels on stage, thank goodness, and you kind of get good at it after a few times!”

Diehl-Eppers says her next move is to get ready to leave December 1st for Mrs. World in South Africa.