Before Burke indictment, Stancil at center of Miss N.C. USA Pageant dispute

A month before his Burke County Grand Jury indictment, Dancing With the Burke Stars promoter and Morganton native Travis Stancil found himself in another controversy — this time tied to the Miss North Carolina USA 2025 pageant, held across the state line in Spartanburg.

The Charleston, S.C.-based state newspaper, The Post and Courier, reported Sept. 10 that Stancil and his girlfriend, Preslie Ross, are accusing the event’s producers of fraud and demanding that Ross be crowned the rightful winner.

The pageant, staged Aug. 29–31 at Converse University, was run by A Blaize Productions, a company led by Miss Universe Guyana 2024 Ariana Blaize. Organizers named Lourdes Madera as Miss North Carolina USA, but Ross, the runner-up, claims judges had actually chosen her to win before officials overruled their decision.

Through their Florida-based attorney Heather Lee O’Brien, Ross and Stancil accused the company of “rigging” the contest and threatened a lawsuit unless the results were reversed. In a public letter, O’Brien alleged breach of contract and fraud and said she would “expose” the producers unless they issued a public apology, according to The Post and Courier.

O’Brien did not respond to The Paper’s requests for comment. The national pageant organization did not comment.

Pageant organizers deny wrongdoing, according to The Post and Courier. They said Ross was disqualified for breaking competition rules, including using a paid makeup service without advance registration and allowing Stancil into an area near contestants’ dressing rooms that was off-limits to men.

Stancil acknowledged being in the hallway but said he never entered a dressing room, the paper reported. He told the newspaper he was only delivering luggage and a water bottle to his girlfriend with staff permission.

The pageant’s producers said Ross’s final score was reduced after the alleged violations, ensuring she did not win. They added that she was allowed to appear on stage to avoid public embarrassment.

Ross and O’Brien also claim the crowned winner, Madera, should not have been eligible to compete because she had already entered Miss USA pageants in Florida and New Jersey earlier this year. The producers said the Miss USA organization reviewed the matter and confirmed Madera’s eligibility.