CORVALLIS - Megan Knox won the singers category and Sugardirt was named the top band in the Benton County Teen Idol competition.

Knox, 16, attends East Linn Christian Academy and has been singing for 15 years.

Sugardirt highlights the roots of American music with a new twist and rockabilly image. Members are from Benton and Linn counties and include Brianna Bender, lead vocals and guitar; Lucas Huddleston, bass; Aaron Smith, guitar and vocals; Bradley Armstrong, guitar; and Tyler Murphy, drums.

The seven-concert event, with several local teenagers competing for a $400 prize in two different divisions, wrapped up with its finale on Friday in the Milam Auditorium on the Oregon State University campus in Corvallis.

The annual Teen Idol event - coordinated and implemented by the Corvallis, Monroe and Alsea youth commissions and sponsored by the Benton County Commission on Children and Families and Linn County Commission on Children and Families - is designed as a drug- and alcohol-free activity for young people in Benton and Linn counties, modeled after the television show American Idol.

Democrat-Herald