Waltham resident Keana-Grace Danier competed for the Miss Massachusetts USA 2017 crown this weekend, ultimately losing to Julia Scaparotti, a Peabody native and New England Patriots cheerleader.

Danier is a 22-year-old student at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, according to a GoFundMe page she set up to raise money to cover pageant costs. She is a 2012 graduate of Waltham High School. “I am so lucky to be given the chance to represent Waltham during this amazing moment in time,” Danier told the Waltham Tribune in an emailed statement.

Aside from cheerleading, Miss Massachusetts 2017 winner Scaparotti works as a host and reporter for the New England Sports Network’s Dirty Water TV. She has been cheering for the Patriots for two years.

Caitlyn Martin was also crowned Miss Massachusetts Teen USA this weekend. Martin was the third runner-up in the 2016 Miss Massachusetts Teen USA pageant.

Founded in 1952, the Miss Massachusetts USA pageant selects the state representative for the national Miss USA pageant — notably owned by President-elect Donald Trump from 1996 to 2015 — which, in turn, selects a national representative for the international Miss Universe pageant. In all levels of the Miss Universe Organization, pageant contestants are judged in three areas. In the interview segment, pageant judges speak with each contestant about their successes, talents and ambitions. Points are awarded to a contestant based on “poise, charm, self-confidence and her ability to communicate, as well as the substance of her answers,” according to the Miss Massachusetts USA website.

The pageant also involves a swimsuit and evening gown competition, during which contestants are judged based on their sense of style, confidence level, physical beauty and overall appearance. Judges do not consider numerical measurements in the swimsuit competition, though contestants are judged on their figure and physical fitness.

—Abby Patkin