Clearwater woman in top 10 in annual swimsuit pageant

A 23-year-old Clearwater woman placed in the Top 10 in an international swimsuit pageant sponsored by the chain known for its chicken wings and servers dressed in skimpy uniforms.

Nicole Ciglar, who was born in New Jersey but grew up in Palm Harbor, said she could scarcely believe it when she placed in the 13th-annual Miss Hooters International Swimsuit Pageant.

"Oh my God, I thought I was going to have a heart attack," Ciglar said this morning.

Ciglar has been on quite a roll recently with the chain. She was Miss February in the Hooters 2009 calendar and is featured in a July-August edition of the chain's magazine.

Ciglar has worked as a waitress in the Clearwater Hooters for three years and said she looks forward to the added opportunities that come with her Top-10 finish.

The only other Florida contestant to place in the Top 10 was Vanessa Ferbeyre of Miami.

The pageant winner was Raechel Holtgrave, 22, who works as a waitress in a Hooters in Columbia, Mo. She won $50,000 and will represent Hooters for the coming year.

"It's an awesome opportunity," said Holtgrave, a recent graduate in math and actuarial science at the University of Missouri.

Holtgrave placed in the Top 10 in 2008 and said she spent the last year working out in anticipation of the 2009 pageant.

"My goal was to place in the Top 10," she said this morning.

A panel of celebrity judges selected her as the winner from more than 130 contestants from around the world. Holtgrave, who has worked for Hooters for 2 1/2 years, was "Hooters Girl of the Year" in 2008.

The pageant, held Saturday night at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Hollywood, was broadcast live to all Hooters restaurants in the country and streamed live at Hooters.com.

"It was probably the toughest competition ever," said Alexis Aleshire, public relations manager for Hooters of America.

Other area contestants who competed but did not place in the Top 10 included Marie Butler of North St. Pete, Miranda Hickel of Naples, Jennifer Keller of Fort Myers, Janet Layug of Lakeland, Niki Longtin of Lakeland and Jamie Lynn Strowig of Naples.

Butler and Longtin placed in the Top 10 in last year's pageant.

Hooters, founded in 1983 in Clearwater, has more than 450 restaurants in 43 states and 26 foreign countries.