The runners-up at Miss Milwaukee 2006 were announced so fast, Ashley Spingola barely had time to think about them.

The College of Communication sophomore and Sussex resident wasn't expecting anything big out of the pageant — a "warmup" for future pageants, she called it — so she did not think the next number and name called, designating the winner, would be hers.

But they were, and on Jan. 7 she became the new Miss Milwaukee 2006.

"I started to cry, threw my hands in my face, and looked out at my parents," Spingola said. "All the hard work paid off."

The hard work has been years in the making, she said.

Spingola started appearing in pageants at age 7, starting with Little Miss Milwaukee and then Miss Milwaukee Junior, both younger pageant divisions.

"She's always been the type of kid to do everything," said her mother, Cheryl Spingola. She said her daughter loved pageants from the start.

Over the years, Spingola would win both Little Miss Milwaukee and Miss Milwaukee Junior; with the Miss Milwaukee win, she became the first to win all three pageants, according to CoryAnn St. Marie-Carls, the co-director of Miss Milwaukee.

Through her years of appearing in pageants, Spingola rarely complained.

"There were times where she was stressed, but she never wanted to quit," Cheryl said.

Preparing for the Miss Milwaukee pageant was a lot of hard work, but Ashley didn't think it was too much for her, she said. She worked out three times a week, developed her platform — "Pure Pressure," encouraging teen volunteering — and practiced her talent, baton twirling. She also worked with a mentor to improve her interviewing skills, which she said would help her in everyday life.

Then came her win at Miss Milwaukee in her first try.

"She was the youngest (of the seven contestants) going in," Cheryl said. "We thought it'll be a practice. Of course, we were happy when her name was announced."

St. Marie-Carls attributed Spingola's win to her strong showing in the interview portion of the pageant, which also featured a talent portion and a swimsuit portion.

"Her interview was very strong — her opinions and ideas were very strong and showed a high level of maturity," St. Marie-Carls said.

For her victory at Miss Milwaukee, Spingola received a $700 scholarship and all expenses paid for the state pageant.

Now, Spingola looks forward to appearing in the Miss Wisconsin pageant in June, and she and others around her say they are optimistic. Still, they know anything can happen.

"It is impossible to predict what the judges will determine for Ashley," said Meghan Coffey, a senior in the College of Engineering who won Miss Milwaukee last year and finished as fourth runner-up in last year's Miss Wisconsin, in an e-mail. "But I have no doubt that Ashley will be well-prepared and do a wonderful job to represent the city."

Spingola said she hopes to do well, but if she doesn't make the top 10 at the pageant, it's OK.

Spingola is not the only Marquette student appearing at Miss Wisconsin. Coffey said she will be participating in the Miss New Berlin pageant and College of Communication senior Janel Mayer won Miss Coulee Region.

Spingola is the sixth Marquette student to win Miss Milwaukee since 1992, St. Marie-Carls said.