Miss South Carolina Ali Rogers is First Runner Up at Miss America

Miss South Carolina Ali Rogers finished second to Miss New York Mallory Hytes Hagan at the Saturday evening Miss America pageant at the Planet Hollywood Casino and Resort in Las Vegas.

The Clemson University 21-year-old performed "I Want You Back" by the Jackson Five. She also captured a preliminary swimsuit competition title.

She was crowned Miss S.C. Teen in 2009 and landed in the Top 10 in that year's Miss America’s Outstanding Teen competition.

Only two South Carolina women have carried the Miss America crown over its 92 years. It's been more than 19 years since anyone from the Palmetto State has won the national pageant.

Update: Ali Rogers has landed in the Top 5 in the Miss America pageant.

In the interview portion, Rogers was asked about the dust-up surrounding ESPN sportscaster Brent Musburger, who was criticized for ogling over former Miss Alabama USA Katherine Webb, who sat the stands at the BCS Championship game.

Rogers said she didn't find the comments objectionable, since Mussburger was simply calling the woman beautiful. Webb dates University of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron. ESPN apologized for going "too far" with the comments.

Update: Miss South Carolna ali Rogers made it into the Top 10 and performed "I Want You Back" by the Jackson Five on piano.

Update: Miss South Carolina made it into the Top 15 at the Miss America Pageant. The contest started at 9 p.m. and should wrap by 11 p.m.

Miss South Carolina Ali Rogers is the odds favorite to win the Miss America title tonight, according to a Las Vegas oddsmaker.

The 21-year-old Clemson University student is the 8 to 1 favorite, according to Las Vegas Review Journal. The pageant gets underway at 9 p.m. on ABC. Roughly 15 million Americans are expected to to tune in.

Rogers captured a preliminary swimsuit competition win, a key sign that she'll make a strong showing in the overall points total.

Only two women from the Palmetto State have been crowned Miss America over the years. The last was in 1994.

The former U.S. Senator Lindsay Graham aid, Rogers got a congratulatory message from the state's senior senator this morning.

"Best of luck to our former intern @AliARogers as she represents South Carolina in the Miss America Pageant," Graham tweeted this morning.