By Andy Simek
MONTICELLO — July 17, 2007 — Seventeen contestants went into the final round of the 2007 Ms. Monticello Raceway Pageant on Sunday afternoon.
Three of those ladies left with trophies.
One of them also left with a future husband.
Ashli Tolli, a 22-year-old Rock Hill resident, earned the title of the 2007 Ms. Monticello Raceway, a job which she is more than happy to accept.
“It’s so incredible,” she said. “I worked so hard for this, and now I promise you that I’ll do a great job representing the raceway and the county.”
Tolli said that all she wanted out of the contest was to “have a good time and meet good people.”
Her expectations were met, she said, and they were exceeded.
After Tolli was presented with a bouquet of flowers, her trophy and her Ms. Monticello Raceway 2007 sash, she said she was soon-to-be-engaged.
But she had no clue as to exactly how soon this would happen.
Her boyfriend-turned-fiancé, Giuseppe Gelsomino, “popped the question” to Tolli as they stood in the trackside winners’ circle while a crowd of her family and friends looked on. Gelsomino got down on one knee and held the engagement ring in his hand as he asked Tolli the important question.
The already overwhelmed Tolli couldn’t believe all this was happening to her all at once.
Tolli, a first time pageant contestant, exclaimed, “I must be dreaming. Somebody pinch me!”
On top of the prestigious title, the trophy, the bouquet of flowers, the Ms. Monticello Raceway 2007 sash and a nice diamond ring on her finger, Tolli left $7,500 richer, money she says will go toward her education. She is an Early Childhood Education major at Sullivan County Community College.
First runner-up Jessica Bullock of South Fallsburg and second runner-up Ashleigh Devries of Pine Bush, who were also first-time contestants in the Ms. Monticello Raceway Pageant, went home with $3,500 and $1,000, respectively.
Both Bullock and Devries said that they would be entering the pageant again next year.
The other finalists who competed for the Ms. Monticello Raceway title on Sunday were Laila Gillies of Yonkers, Patrice Hamilton of Middletown, Christine Hoffman of Wurtsboro, Chelsey Hughes of Otisville, Nicole Kissinger of Selkirk, Samantha Krieger of Highland, Destiny Langlois of Bethel, Jennifer Lingle of Warwick, Daniela Perruna of Campbell Hall, Erin Rosenberger of Callicoon, Sonia Sehkon of Chester, Brianna Surkis of Highland, Maribel Velezquez of the Bronx and Brianna Zambito of Newburgh.