Manteca's young leaders once again took center stage as the community gathered to celebrate the 2026 Manteca Youth Focus Scholarship Competition.

Now in its 32nd year, the program continues to reflect what Manteca does best: investing in its youth, celebrating their talent, and championing the power of education.

This year, 45 bright and motivated young men and women stepped forward to represent their community with pride. Through months of training in the six areas of competition including volunteer service, academic achievement, community advocacy, personality interview, stage arts and communicative skills, each contestant grew as a leader, and every one of them earned a Starlight Award (in parenthesis below) and a scholarship for their effort. In recognition of their dedication, MYF awarded a total of $16,950 in scholarships, the most ever given in a single year.

The MYF is delighted to share the results of the 2026 Manteca Youth Focus Scholarship Competition, held at Calvary Community Church in Manteca:

Placing first in the competition for their age division – these are the representatives of the Family City of Manteca and MYF for 2026. Their scholarships are sponsored by MYF and Dr. Amber Campbell, Miss Manteca 2000):

*Miss Manteca Claire Caroll (Perfect score Personality Interview; $5,000)

+ Manteca City Ambassador Abhimanyu Nair (Perfect score Academic Achievement, $5,000)

+ Miss Teen Manteca Elyse Vonasek (Academic Achievement; $500)

+ Teen Manteca City Ambassador Spandan Nikam (Academic Achievement; $500)

+ Miss Young Manteca Shanaya Jain (Personality Interview; $200)

+ Young Manteca City Ambassador Amey Karanjkar (Perfect score Personality Interview; $200)

Placing second in the competition for their age division – these are the representatives of the Manteca Sunrise Kiwanis Club and the 2026 Manteca Pumpkin Fair to be held this October. Their scholarships are sponsored by the Manteca Sunrise Kiwanis Club:

+ Miss Pumpkin Fair Nikitha Muruganagarajan (Perfect score Academic Achievement; $500)

+ Pumpkin Fair Ambassador Kushaagra Patel (Communicative Skills; $500)

+ Miss Teen Pumpkin Fair Shreya Bharti (Personality Interview: $250)

+ Teen Pumpkin Fair Ambassador Shalom Kohinoordeep Singh (Stage Arts; $250)

+ Miss Young Pumpkin Fair Charis Ang (Communicative Skills; $100)

+ Young Pumpkin Fair Ambassador James Neuner (Academic Achievement; $100)

Placing third in the competition for their age division — these are the representative of the Manteca Chamber of Commerce and the 2026 Crossroads Watermelon Street Fair to be held next June. Their scholarships are sponsored by MYF and the Manteca Chamber of Commerce.

+ Miss Watermelon Street Fair Aditi Malgunde (Communicative Skills; $500)

+ Watermelon Street Fair Ambassador Harshith Kumar (Personality Interview; $500)

+ Miss Teen Watermelon Street Fair Yannis Ang (Communicative Skills; $250)

+ Teen Watermelon Street Fair Ambassador Prathyag Jinka (Personality Interview; $250)

+ Miss Young Watermelon Street Fair Samaira Jain (Volunteer Service; $100)

+ Young Watermelon Street Fair Ambassador Julius Martinez (Academic Achievement; $100)

Placing fourth in the competition for their age division - these are the representatives of MYF and various winter holiday-themed events in the greater Manteca community. Their scholarships are sponsored by MYF.

+ Miss Winter Fest Deziree Valladarez (Personality Interview; $250)

+ Winter Fest Ambassador Marcus Ang (Perfect score Academic Achievement; $250)

+ Miss Teen Winter Fest Morgan Silva (Volunteer Service, $125)

+ Teen Winter Fest Ambassador James Chu (Stage Arts; $125)

+ Miss Young Winter Fest Ria Muruganagarajan (Personality Interview, $50)

Additionally non-finalist scholarships were awarded to the following participants.

+ Zainab Sami (Volunteer Service; $100)

+ Jazmine Quizon (Community Advocacy Speech, $100)

+ Neriah Flores (Volunteer Service; $100)

+ Arjun Prabhu (Academic Achievement, $100)

+ Raunak Mahar (Academic Achievement, $100)

+ Harsh Konduru (Academic Acheivement, $100)

+ Shaurya Khairmode (Stage Arts, $100)

+ Mina Boghdady (Academic Achievement, $100)

+ Abhavya Verma (Academic Achievement, $50)

+ Shelby O’Conner (Academic Achievement, $50)

+ Izabella Neuner (Academic Achievement, $50)

+ Siddhi Mishra (Personality Interview, $50)

+ Lakshit Siwal (Volunteer Service, $50)

+ Aarav Kavala (Academic Achievement, $50)

+ Kunsh Bhende (Personality Interview, $50)

+ Kevin Anxhaku (Academic Achievement, $50)

+ Nissi Singh (PERFECT SCORE Stage Arts; $25)

+ Miranda Silva (Volunteer Service; $25)

+ Olivia Robinson (Academic Achievement; $25)

+ Alina Mullenix (Academic Achievement, $25)

+ Raghav Siwal (Academic Achievement, $25)

+ Viraj Sangu (Academic Achievement, $25)

These are the winners of the Core Values special awards (highest score in their age division for that phase of competition).

Community Advocacy Speech “Caring” Award

- Young: Samaira Jain

- Teen: TIE Yannis Ang and Spandan Nikam

- Upper: Kush Patel

Personality Interview “Integrity” Award

- Young: PERFECT SCORE Amey Karanjkar

- Teen: TIE Shreya Bharti and Elyse Vonasek

- Upper: PERFECT SCORE Claire Carroll

Stage Arts “Imagination” Award:

- Young: Perfect score Nissi Singh (Bhangra Dance)

- Teen: Shalom Singh (Bhangra Dance)

- Upper: Marcus Ang (Cello)

Academic Achievement “Resiliency” Award:

- Young: Amey Karanjkar

- Teen: Three-way tie; Izabella Neuner, Spandan Nikam and Elyse Vonasek

- Upper: Three-way tie, perfect score Marcus Ang, Nikitha Muruganagarajan, Abhi Nair

Volunteer Service “Kindness” Award:

- Young: Four-way tie: Miranda Silva, Charis Ang, Samaira Jain and Shanaya Jain

- Teen: Tie: Morgan Silva and Elyse Vonasek

- Upper: Claire Carroll

Most Inspirational Award: (as voted by the contestants)

- 7th Annual Breanne Wigginton Memorial Most Inspirational Award was given to Claire Carroll

- Young: Charis Ang

- Teen: Spandan Nikam

The “People’s Choice Award” winner was chosen via a fundraiser voted on by members of the audience. While it has no bearing on the overall outcome of the competition, it is a fun way for the family of the contestants to show their support and also helped raise $5,300 for the MYF scholarship fund. The prize includes a fun basket of gift cards and prizes to enjoy.

- 1st Place - Nissi Singh

- 2nd Place - Alina Mullenix

- 3rd Place - Shalom Singh

The Above & Beyond Recognition Award recognizes contestants for going above and beyond in their fundraising efforts. It has no bearing on the official outcome of the competition.

- Bronze: TIE Shanaya Jain & Samaira Jain

- Silver: Deziree Valladarez

- Gold: Shalom Singh

The scholarships awarded this year are only the beginning. In the coming year, this group of 45 young leaders will log hundreds of volunteer hours, implement their advocacy projects, and represent Manteca at community events across the region, carrying forward the same spirit of service that got them here.

This is what makes Manteca Youth Focus different: the crown is just a starting point. It's a year of mentorship, leadership development, and real community impact, made possible by sponsors, donors, and volunteers who believe in investing in youth.

Want to be part of that impact? Whether as a sponsor, a volunteer, or a contestant in next year's competition, there's a place for you with MYF. Reach out to learn how you can get involved visit www.MantecaYouthFocus.org or email MantecaYouthFocus@gmail.com.