LEWISTON — Madison Leslie is many things: varsity athlete, singer and dedicated student. Now she can add pageant winner to that list.

Eighteen-year-old Leslie, a student at St. Dominic Academy in Auburn, was crowned Miss Maine’s Outstanding Teen in this year’s pageant held last month at Catherine McAuley High School.

She said it was pretty exciting to have won, but it didn’t come easy. “There’s a lot of mental and physical training that goes into it,” Leslie said. “I trained a lot for the fitness part of it, mostly in lacrosse preseason.” Leslie plays lacrosse and basketball for St. Dom’s.

She also trained with a singing coach and a musical accompanist at Main Street Music of Lewiston for the talent portion of the pageant. Leslie is in the choir at St. Dom’s and sings before high school games.

“I started prepping in January,” she said. “I also had to prepare for the interview by staying up to date on current events.”

This was Leslie’s first time participating in a pageant. “I’d never even seen one before,” she joked. “A friend introduced me to it. I’m glad she did!”

Leslie said highlights of the pageant included the community service aspect and making a lot of close friendships with the other contestants. The teen group had four participants. She said her favorite part of pageant week was singing at the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland with the other contestants.

Her friends were very supportive of the pageant venture. “A lot of my friends came to the pageant,” Leslie said. “The whole St. Dom’s varsity lacrosse team was there, cheering from the audience.”

Leslie said she would encourage other girls to participate in the pageant. “It’s such a great experience and it will give you a lot of life skills, including public speaking, growth and development, personally, and community service.”

She added, “I don’t think there’s anything negative about (pageants). There’s a lot that goes into a pageant; it’s not just a pretty face. There’s a talent piece and community service. The organization has raised $13 million for the Children’s Miracle Network this year.”

Leslie added that the pageant has helped her with time management and organizational skills. “It will also help me in the future with interviews for jobs and schools.” She plans to go to college and play collegiate lacrosse.

Leslie added that as part of her duties, she has “a year of service in which I will be making different appearances and visiting Children’s Miracle Network hospitals. I will also be performing at various events in Maine as a singer.”

Leslie will compete at Miss America Outstanding Teen as Miss Lewiston-Auburn on Aug. 2-6 in Orlando, Fla., with other winners from across the country. “I’m excited to represent Maine at nationals. And I’m proud to represent the Lewiston-Auburn area.”

She said her preparation for Orlando will include keeping up on current events and practicing her talent. “And I’m still working on walking in heels. I’m used to my cleats.”