THOMASVILLE — Miss Gwinnett County Aleks Arwood recently returned from the Miss Georgia Pageant, where she was named the runner-up, before Miss Northwest Georgia Sophia Wooten was crowned the winner for 2026.

For Arwood, the moment was a dream, as Wooten is a close personal friend and someone with whom she shared her title.

Arwood crowned Wooten Miss Northwest Georgia this past year, where the two instantly struck up a bond. They quickly talked about what it would be like if they were the final two at Miss Georgia, before vowing to take the stage by storm in June.

After arriving at Miss Georgia for preliminaries, Arwood was placed in the Gamma group, which competed in the interview round first, before talent, fitness, and evening gown.

“I like to start off big and end big,” Arwood joked.

For her talent, Arwood returned to her roots at South Georgia Ballet, where she took dance from age 7-18.

Dancing pointe to “Gold,” choreographed by Shea Sullivan, Arwood said the dance was an homage and thank you to the Miss America organization for the last four years and to the people who have helped get her there.

After a quick change, Arwood was back on stage for health and fitness, where she donned a red two-piece set, while a VoiceOver shared with the crowd what health looked like to her.

“I don’t have to look a certain physique that everyone might think of,” Arwood said. “I can still be happy with what I look like and don’t have to be skin and bones.”

Arwood would go on to win the Overall Health & Fitness Award before moving on to the evening gown portion of the competition.

Adorned in a 45 lbs., hand-beaded, red long-sleeved gown, Arwood graced the stage, where she was also named the recipient of the Preliminary Evening Gown Award and later the Overall Evening Gown Award.

“It was done by Keith Pittman at Lasting Impressions and Sherri Hill,” Arwood said. “They designed it a couple of years ago for Ellie Breaux, who was Miss Texas.”

Arwood recalled seeing Breaux’s dress at Miss America and called Breaux, asking if it was possible to wear a remake of the style.

“Hers initially had shoulder pads and different beading,” Arwood explained. “So, I took out the shoulder pads and put in different beading and made it my own, but I always tell people it’s not my own creation.”

However, Arwood said it’s by far one of her favorite gowns she has ever worn and is so thankful to Breaux for allowing her to make her vision a reality.

Following her preliminary night wins, Arwood was hopeful that she would return for the second night for another chance at the Top 15.

As name after name was called, Arwood told herself that she had done the best she could.

“It was kind of anybody’s game at that point,” she said. “The girls competing at Miss Georgia, the caliber of skill, the caliber of talent is off the charts. I was praying my name was called.”

Finally, her name 15- Miss Gwinnett County was called.

Arwood quickly took the forefront of the stage again, where she was given a word and had to explain what it meant to her in 30 seconds.

Arwood was prompted with the word “empowerment.” It was a word Arwood felt perfectly described her community service initiative, the Aveline Project, which empowers the next generation of young women.

“It was a little bit of relief, but then I had to go backstage and get ready for fitness and do everything all over again,” Arwood said. “You have to go compete; someone is going to be crowned.”

After the Top 15 had competed once more, they were brought back on stage, where the Top 5 were announced.

From that moment on, contestants have a complete blank slate.

“Your scores are completely wiped, and you answer one final question, and the judges rank you 1-5 based on what they’ve seen throughout the course of the week and how you could possibly act as the current or new Miss Georgia,” Arwood explained.

Arwood was questioned on how she would balance being an influencer in the Miss America Organization, while still being her own person.

“I talked about how Miss Georgia needs to be relatable and relate to every single person, and how social media can be a tool when it’s used correctly,” Arwood said. “You have the opportunity to reach an audience you never knew you had, but with that power, you need to make sure you’re doing good with it.”

Once the on-stage questions were complete, the Top 5 contestants held their breath as they waited to see who would be crowned Miss Georgia 2026.

For Arwood and Wooten, they had discussed and prayed for it to be the two of them left standing on the stage at the end of the night.

“It almost became a joke, not necessarily because it was funny, because we actually wanted it really badly, but it was more of how crazy would it be if this came true,” Arwood said.

As their dreams became a reality and it was just the two of them left on the stage, Arwood said she felt a sense of peace because she wasn’t worried about whose name was going to be called.

“I knew in that moment that if it wasn’t going to be me, Sophia was going to do the best job out of anybody, and I was okay with whatever was about to happen,” she said.

Arwood then heard her name called as runner-up, meaning her best friend is now the new Miss Georgia.

For Arwood, it is the best outcome, as she not only got to share that special moment with her friend, but she also received scholarship money as part of her runner-up win, allowing her to now pursue her MBA.

She hopes to attend Emory, where she can compete in the Miss Atlanta Pageant and hopefully make another run at Miss Georgia.