Meet Your Neighbor: The Story Behind Miss Ocean City
With her reign nearing an end, Miss Ocean City Antonella DiAntonio looks back at her time in city pageants as she readies for the next chapter – freshman year at University of Delaware
Last year, when Antonella DiAntonio was named Miss Ocean City, she became the first ever to win all three pageants crowned by the city: Little Miss Ocean City, Junior Miss Ocean City and Miss Ocean City.
Not surprisingly, the recent Ocean City High School graduate feels even though she achieved so much already at a young age, she doesn’t feel her best days are behind. Not even close.
She sees a horizon with her best days and accomplishments still looming ahead.
“I’m super excited,” she said, “so I’m closing one chapter, but I’m starting a new one.”
Even with more accomplishments ahead, Antonella will always cherish her youth.
“I think I’ve had a phenomenal time through Ocean City High School and growing up through the Ocean City School District,” she said. “I truly feel like it’s so bittersweet because being a part of the dance team and being Little Miss, Junior Miss and Miss Ocean City has just been such a huge part of my life.
“And even though that chapter’s closing, I still feel like that it’s always going to be a part of me and I know I’m always going to have a place to come back to and my home and it’s made me who I am up until this point.”
Antonella certainly stands alone in the 57-year history of the pageants. The Sea Isle City resident has been competing in Ocean City pageants for five years. She was crowned Little Miss Ocean City 2020 and Junior Miss Ocean City in 2023, while completing the terrific trifecta last August.
“Growing up as a dancer, I’ve obviously just always loved to perform, and I feel like that’s when I’m able to show like my true self and just like everything about me, my personality,” Antonella said. “And then through the pageants, I would say interviews and just being like a public figure, public speaking, it really makes you step into the position of being a role model and a mentor for all of the younger kids in the community.
“I’m happy that I’ve had these opportunities because I feel like I’ve grown so much as an individual through the past six years I’ve been a part of the pageants,” she continued.
Antonella will pass on her crown in August before stepping into the next phase of her accomplished life by attending the University of Delaware.
“Little Miss, when I started out, I had just no idea what I was getting myself into. I was just doing it for fun with my friends,” Antonella said. “After holding the title for a year, I just matured so much and I was so blessed to have the opportunity and obviously it was like my dream at the time to one day be Junior and Miss Ocean City because I formed such a close relationship with my crown sisters, and they were such good role models for me that I wanted to do the same thing one day.”
Antonella’s sister, Arianna, also won Junior Miss Ocean City last August at the Music Pier. Arianna also won Little Miss Ocean City in 2022. They are the daughters of Anthony and Angel DiAntonio.
“When I was Junior Miss,” Antonella said, “I absolutely loved it and then this year, being able to share the same experience with my younger sister has just been so incredibly special because she’s truly my best friend and we are very close, but having this opportunity just – it made my senior year perfect.”
The talented DiAntonio sisters both dance for Pro Dance Academy in Northfield. Arianna, who will be a junior in September at OCHS, is also a member of the school dance team.
In the fall, Antonella will be competing on the Blue Hens’ dance team.
“I think going into college, I feel like I’m kind of starting over, so I’m kind of having to prove myself again,” Antonella said. “And just being on a new team is going to be so special and I can’t wait to be a part of that dynamic because it’s going to be the same but it’s also going to be different in a lot of ways.”
Antonella will major in elementary and middle school education.
“I’ve always loved school and I feel like my most impressionable years when I was learning were when I was in the primary and intermediate schools in Ocean City. All of the teachers had such a profound impact on me,” Antonella said.
“My grandmother, Angel Dalrymple, she was Miss Cape May County, so she was kind of my inspiration for competing in the first place because she is just so beautiful from the inside and out, and she was a teacher,” Antonella said.
At Ocean City High School, Antonella was a member of the National Honor Society, a Student Ambassador for the Class of 2026, and captain of the Red Raiders competitive dance team.
“I think everyone knows they can always count on me and I always put a lot of pressure on myself to push myself and become a better person, individual, a dancer, a student at all times,” Antonella said. “I always just want to be the best version of myself.
“I’m going into college, I’m going to be on my own and be able to make my own decisions and choices and I think that I’m also going to learn and grow and even mature a lot from even that,” she added.
Antonella doesn’t see competing in any more pageants in the near future, but …
“Well, because these pageants have been such a big part of my life for so long, I hope that this isn’t the end,” she said. “But I think for now, going into the next year, my main priorities are going to be my studies and being a Division I athlete.”
By Kevin Callahan