Sparta vocalist takes talent crown

BY DIANA GOOVAERTS
AUGUSTA — Sparta vocalist Ava Mederos walked away with a win Saturday Aug. 12, in the 2017 Sussex County's Got Talent contest held at the New Jersey State Fair.
The 18-year-old, who is bound for the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in the fall, beat out 14 other contestants after three rounds of performing. Mederos' winning repertoire included renditions of “Gravity” by Sara Bareilles and “I Who Have Nothing” by Shirley Bassey, as well as a jazz interpretation of Taylor Swift's “Bad Blood.”
Other finalists in the competition included first runner-up Natalie Sophia Torres, a 10-year-old singer from Sparta who won the Sussex County Idol contest in 2015; second runner-up Amelya Race, a 12-year-old singer from Lafayette; third place finisher Chris Hara, a 17-year-old musical theater performer from Franklin; and fourth place winners Queen Pashmeen, a performing duo from Sandyston made up of wife Donna Dale and husband Charles Terrat.