Valerie Gatto

PITTSBURGH — A Cranberry Township woman was named Miss Pennsylvania USA at the pageant Sunday night at a Pittsburgh International Airport hotel.

Valerie Gatto, 24, bested 52 candidates from across the state to take the crown. She is the daughter of Theresa Gaugler of Cranberry.

Gatto is a graduate of North Hills High School and the University of Pittsburgh.

She is a freelance marketing coordinator while she continues to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. She would like to become a marketing officer of a company after receiving her MBA.

Gatto will represent Pennsylvania in the Miss USA 2014 Pageant, which will be televised on NBC.