One dream’s demise has been replaced by another one for Jacqueline “Jackie” Gross, a former Delcambre resident and outdoorswoman who lives in Silt, Colo.

The 29-year-old finalist in the Tahoe Films Ltd.’s third annual Extreme Huntress Contest was informed last week that she finished runner-up, by 168 votes, to tiffany Brewer,who lives in northern California. However, Gross said, the final vote totals were unavailable, organizers told her.

“I had 2,600-plus votes the last night,” Gross said, referring to the voting deadline of Dec. 31.

Hundreds of the votes for Gross came from Louisiana.

Her quest to be the next Extreme Huntress was featured Nov. 11 in The Daily Iberian. “I appreciate all the support. Louisiana really came out. So did Colorado. That kind of touched me. I

had that much support to try and make a dream come true and it meant a lot to me.”

Her first reaction via email Tuesday morning was “I placed second overall … kind of like LSU.”

The LSU Tigers were defeated 21-0 by Alabama on Monday night in the Bowl Championship Series Championship Game in New Orleans.

Gross, who used to go duck hunting at Lake Peigneur with her brother before and after school when she was in the second-and third-grade at Delcambre Elementary School, was taking the narrow loss much better than many avid LSU Tiger fans were reacting to the bitter loss to the Crimson Tide.

Brewer, meanwhile, wins a fully outfitted trip to hunt Cape buffalo with Martin Pieters Safaris in the Omay Concession in Zimbabwe, Africa, a hunt that will be featured on an episode of “Eye of the Hunter,” hosted by Tom Opre of Tahoe Films, beginning in August.

The psychiatric ER nurse at Alameda County Medical Center in the Bay Area also wins a Blaser R8 Rifle, an Aimpoint Hunter rifle sight, ammunition from Barnes, complete firearm cleaning kits from Otis, a gift certificate from Brownells and safari clothing from SHE Outdoor Apparel.

Gross, who played high school and college softball before entering the oilfield business in quality and document control for Exxon Mobil, and Brewer were finalists in the 2012 Extreme Huntress Contest. The others were Rhonda Cork of Wasilla, Alaska; Jody Geistweidt of Frederickbsurg, Texas; Joey Nelson of Bozeman, Mont.; Jamie Nelson of Salem, Utah; Olivia Nalos of Dripping Springs, Texas; Liz Caddell of Fort Smith, Ark.; Miranda Browne of Alder, Mont., and Stephanie Love of Danbury, Texas.

Their 500-word essays on why they believed they were “the most hardcore huntress in the world” were judged as the 10 best by a panel of widely known outdoorswomen, including some with outdoors television shows of their own.

Their essays cab be seen at www.tahoefilms.com.

The winner will be announced this week at the Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show in Las Vegas.

Gross believes she is the biggest winner, however, after her two-month long experience in the campaign.

She was interviewed by KLPC-TV in Lake Charles while she was visiting Louisiana during the Christmas holidays Nov. 23-Jan. 1. It was there that her grass roots campaign touched her heart.

“When I came to Louisiana a girl I went to Hackberry High School with, Jessica Desormeaux, sent this to me from her little girl named Ali Desormeaux,” Gross wrote in the email Tuesday. The note from her friend read: “Hey, Jackie, just wanted to let you know my 7-year-old daughter already thinks you are awesome because you hunted all those animals. But wait until she

sees that you are on TV, too. She just can’t me and Jared know you. She also likes to go hunting so she just thinks you are the greatest thing.”

Gross said, “After reading this message from Ali it touched my heart because that is what my goal is. I want to help women and children to chase their dreams and follow their hearts. We can

only choose our happiness and for me it is enjoying the outdoor world.

“I think all of us are winnings no matter what. I think that it was a good race. I don’t think I would have done anything different,” the big game huntress said Friday. “Everything happens

for a reason. I’m still hoping to open doors for the youth and the women so they can become more involved in the outdoor world. That’s why I want to do the rest of my life.”

That’s her new dream.