"Sienna was selected as the country’s banner bearer to the world’s largest and most prestigious pageant during a private selection process, made necessary due to the Covid 19 pandemic." WINNER is a bit of a stretch. Although...although we have a Miss America who "won" in a city that didn't have a local pageant. There was no contest...no competition. I'm in Arizona, and of a similar age. A lot of us followed her desperate attempts to become Miss Arizona. They worked. She's Miss America 1965.
I think she did "deserve" to win on the basis of her education, talent, and swimsuit competition. However, after losing in other local contests, she manufactured a way to win. She either broke the rules or made new ones.