Miss USA 2016

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Miss USA 2016
Date	June 5, 2016
Presenters	Terrence J Julianne Hough Ashley Graham[1][2]
Entertainment	Nervo Chris Young Backstreet Boys[1][3]
Venue	T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Broadcaster	Fox
Entrants	52 (including Miss 52 USA)
Placements	15
Debuts	Miss 52 USA
Winner	Deshauna Barber District of Columbia
Congeniality	Peyton Brown Alabama[4]
Photogenic	Kate Redeker Wisconsin[5]
← 2015 2017 →

Miss USA 2016 was the 65th Miss USA pageant. It was held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 5, 2016. Terrence J and Julianne Hough all hosted for the first time, while Ashley Graham served as the backstage host.^[6][7] All fifty states and the District of Columbia competed. Olivia Jordan of Oklahoma crowned her successor, Deshauna Barber of the District of Columbia, at the end of the event. Barber represented the United States at the Miss Universe 2016 pageant, where she placed in the Top 9.^[8]

This was the first edition of the Miss USA pageant to be held under the ownership of WME/IMG, which purchased the Miss Universe Organization from Donald Trump on September 14, 2015, three days after NBCUniversal sold him its 50% interest in the organization in exchange for Trump's dropping a breach of contract lawsuit he filed against the media company in August for terminating NBC's contract to televise the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants. It was also the first Miss USA pageant to be broadcast on Fox after signed an agreement in October 2015.^[9][10][11]

For the first time, a 52nd entrant for the pageant was decided via a nationwide search through social media voting.^[12]

Background

T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the host venue of Miss USA 2016 competition.

Location

On April 5, the Miss Universe Organization announced that the competition would be hosted at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and a seventh time hosting the state in nine years.^[7]

Hosts and performers

On May 25, it was announced that the competition would be hosted by Terrence J, while Ashley Graham would serve as backstage host. A week later, Julianne Hough was announced as the second host would work alongside Terrence J. Hough is a dancer and judge on Dancing with the Stars.^[6][13]

Also on May 25, Backstreet Boys and Nashville Star alum Chris Young were announced as the musical guests.^[14]

Selection of participants

Delegates from 50 states and the District of Columbia were chosen in state pageants held from July 2015 to January 2016. The first state pageant was Florida, held on July 11, 2015 (the day before the Miss USA 2015 final competition), and the final pageant was Kentucky, held on January 31, 2016; fifteen of these delegates were former Miss Teen USA state winners (made the highest number ever surpassed the previous number of 12 former teens in Miss USA 2014), two of them were former Miss America state winners and three of them were former Miss America's Outstanding Teen state winners.

Two state titleholders were appointed as replacements after the original titleholders were unable to compete. Stormy Keffeler, the original Miss Washington USA 2016, resigned in January 2016 after pleaded guilty from disclosure of DUI in April 2015. She was replaced by Kelsey Schmidt, who was the first runner-up of the Miss Washington USA 2016 pageant,^[15] and Allie Dunn, the original Miss North Carolina USA 2016, resigned two weeks before the start of the Miss USA 2016 competition when she was falling ill and missed the start of pageant activities prevented from entering registration form. She was replaced by Devin Gant, who was the first runner-up of Miss North Carolina USA 2016 pageant and made a last minute trip to Las Vegas as the pageant activities were already started.^[16]

Results

Miss USA 2016 results.

§ Voted into the Top 15 by the public as the "People's Choice".

Awards

Order of announcements

Historical significance

• District of Columbia wins competition for the third time.
• Hawaii earns the 1st runner-up position for the first time and reaches its highest placement since Brook Lee won in 1997. Ironically, Lee went on to win the Miss Universe title in 1997.
• Georgia earns the 2nd runner-up position for the sixth time. The last time it placed this was in 2014.
• California finishes as Top 5 for the first time and reached its highest placement since Alyssa Campanella won 2011.
• Alabama finishes as Top 5 for the first time and reached its highest placement since 2013.
• States that placed in semifinals the previous year were Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii, Oklahoma and Virginia.
• South Dakota made its third cut and reaches into the top 10, becoming its highest placement of the state.
• Alabama placed for the seventh consecutive year.
• Arizona, Oklahoma and Virginia placed for the third consecutive year.
• Hawaii made its second consecutive placement.
• California, Georgia and South Carolina last placed in 2014.
• Connecticut, Ohio and West Virginia last placed in 2013.
• Arkansas last placed in 2012.
• Missouri last placed in 2011.
• District of Columbia last placed in 2006.
• South Dakota last placed in 1974.
• Louisiana and Nevada break an ongoing streak of placements since 2012.
• Maryland breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 2011.

Miss 52 USA

On May 2016, a 52nd contestant took part in the competition via social media voting. The Miss Universe Organization along with the fashion agency Sherri Hill decided to make a competition online where different women from all the US competed.^[17] Finally, 10 women were selected by a panel of judges, and these 10 finalists were revealed on May 10, 2016. The winner between these 10 candidates competed as Miss 52 USA in the Miss USA 2016 pageant on June 5, 2016.^[18] The winner was announced on May 18, 2016 and Alexandra Miller from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma was named as Miss 52 USA.

The 10 selected finalists were:

N°	Name	Age	Hometown	State
1	Catherine Williams	24	San Antonio	Texas
2	Yvonne Vega	25	New Braunfels	Texas
3	Jessica Bean	24	Casper	Wyoming
4	Alexandra Miller	26	Oklahoma City	Oklahoma
5	Ivana Thomas	22	Durham	North Carolina
6	Amanda Bell	24	Nashville	Tennessee
7	Kaitlyn Smith	26	Jacksonville Beach	Florida
8	Molly Vierhile	23	San Francisco	California
9	Niki Kafashzadeh	24	Rockville	Maryland
10	Bridgette Garb	21	Oak Park	California

The panel of judges that selected the 10 finalists were:^[19]

• Alessandra Garcia, American plus-size model.
• Ashley Wagner, American figure skater.
• Andrew Serrano, American IMG Fashion Director of Global Public Relations.
• Lauren Giraldo, American social media star.
• Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, Miss Universe 2015 from the Philippines.
• Sherri Hill, American fashion designer and businesswoman.

Pageant

Preliminary round

Prior to the final competition, the delegates competed in the preliminary competition, which involves private interviews with the judges and a presentation show where they compete in swim wear and evening gown. It was held on June 1, 2016 and was broadcast on the Miss Universe website and mobile app and was hosted by Nick Teplitz and Olivia Jordan.

Judges

• Fred Nelson ^[20] – President/Executive Producer of the People's Choice Awards
• Jimmy Nguyen^{[citation needed]} – Entertainment and digital media lawyer, diversity advocate, blogger, and technology advisor
• Joey Boukadakis ^[20] – Writer, director, producer, and media executive
• Keltie Knight^[20] – Correspondent and weekend host of CBS's The Insider
• Kristin Conte ^[20] – Marketing and communications executive and event creator
• Nick Phelps ^[20] – Global Alliance Director at Droga5
• Rebecca Bienstock ^[20] – West Coast Bureau Chief at Us Weekly magazine

Finals

During the final competition, the top fifteen competed in swim wear, while the top ten also competed in evening gown. The top five also competed in a submitted question round. Unlike in previous years, the third runner-up and the fourth runner-up were not awarded as the format was revived in Miss Universe 2015, and instead the judges would determine those three finalists to advance in the top three. The top three also competed in the same question round and a final runway, and the winner was decided by a panel of judges alongside the two runners-up.

Judges

• Ali Landry^[21] – Miss USA 1996 from Louisiana
• Crystle Stewart^[21] – Miss USA 2008 from Texas
• Joe Zee^[21] – Editor in Chief and Executive Creative Officer of Yahoo Fashion
• Laura Brown^[21][22] – Features/Special Projects and Executive Director of Harper's Bazaar magazine
• Nigel Barker^[21] – Fashion photographer and the host of UK and US versions of The Face

Contestants

52 delegates competed for Miss USA 2016:^[23][24][25]

State	Name	Age[a]	Height	Hometown	Placement	Notes
Alabama	Peyton Brown[26]	22	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)	Eufaula	Top 5, Congeniality	Previously Miss Alabama Teen USA 2012
Alaska	Ariane Audett[27]	21	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)	Anchorage
Arizona	Chelsea Myers[28]	20	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)	Tempe	Top 15
Arkansas	Abby Floyd[29]	20	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)	Searcy	Top 10	Previously Miss Arkansas Teen USA 2013
California	Nadia Mejia[30]	20	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)	Diamond Bar	Top 5	Daughter of Gerardo Mejia and Miss West Virginia USA 1989 Kathy Eicher
Colorado	Caley-Rae Pavillard[31]	22	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)	Castle Pines		Previously Miss Colorado's Outstanding Teen 2008 Previously Miss Colorado Teen USA 2011
Connecticut	Tiffany Teixeira[32]	25	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)	Bridgeport	Top 10	Previously Miss Connecticut Teen USA 2009
Delaware	Alexandra Vorontsova[33]	21	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)	Newark
District of Columbia	Deshauna Barber[34]	26	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)	Washington, D.C.	Miss USA 2016
Florida	Brie Gabrielle[35]	25	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)	West Palm Beach
Georgia	Emanii Davis[36]	22	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)	Griffin	2nd runner-up	Later placed 3rd runner-up at Miss World America 2017 Later Miss Earth USA 2019
Hawaii	Chelsea Hardin[37]	24	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)	Honolulu	1st runner-up
Idaho	Sydney Halper[38]	21	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)	Moscow
Illinois	Zena Malak[39]	24	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)	Carol Stream
Indiana	Morgan Abel[40]	26	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)	North Vernon		Previously Miss Indiana Teen USA 2008
Iowa	Alissa Morrison[41]	24	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)	Davenport
Kansas	Victoria Wiggins[42]	26	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)	Junction City
Kentucky	Kyle Hornback[43]	20	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)	Louisville
Louisiana	Maaliyah Papillion[44]	21	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)	Lake Charles
Maine	Marisa Butler[45]	22	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)	Standish		Later Miss World America 2018 Later Miss Earth United States 2021
Maryland	Christina Denny[46]	25	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)	Baltimore		Previously Miss Maryland 2013
Massachusetts	Whitney Sharpe[47]	21	5 ft 5 in (165 cm)	Burlington
Michigan	Susie Leica[48]	26	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)	Livonia
Minnesota	Bridget Jacobs[49]	20	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)	Maple Grove
Mississippi	Haley Sowers[50]	22	5 ft 5 in (165 cm)	Meridian		Previously Miss Mississippi Teen USA 2010 Former Tennessee Titans Cheerleader
Missouri	Sydnee Stottlemyre[51]	22	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)	Chesterfield	Top 10	Previously Miss Missouri's Outstanding Teen 2008 Previously Miss Missouri Teen USA 2011
Montana	Sibahn Doxey[52]	22	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)	Frenchtown		Previously Miss Montana Teen USA 2011
Nebraska	Sarah Hollins[53]	25	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)	Omaha		Previously Miss Nebraska Teen USA 2009 [54]
Nevada	Emelina Adams[55]	24	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)	Anthem
New Hampshire	Jessica Strohm[56]	25	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)	Manchester		Professional cheerleader for New England Patriots
New Jersey	Jessielyn Palumbo[57]	24	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)	Wayne
New Mexico	Naomie Germain[58]	22	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)	Albuquerque
New York	Serena Bucaj[59]	22	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)	Suffern
North Carolina	Devin Gant[16]	23	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)	Charlotte		Originally first runner-up, but assumed the title after winner Allie Dunn resigned before the start of pageant activities due to illness.
North Dakota	Halley Maas[60]	22	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)	Grand Forks
Ohio	Megan Wise[61]	26	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)	Gallipolis	Top 15
Oklahoma	Taylor Gorton[62]	24	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)	Glenpool	Top 15	Previously Miss Oklahoma Teen USA 2008
Oregon	Natriana Shorter[63]	25	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)	Eugene
Pennsylvania	Elena LaQuatra[64]	24	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)	Pittsburgh		Previously Miss Pennsylvania's Outstanding Teen 2007 Previously Miss Pennsylvania Teen USA 2010
Rhode Island	Theresa Agonia[65]	24	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)	Cumberland
South Carolina	Leah Lawson[66]	22	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)	Anderson	Top 15	Auditioned on season 14 of American Idol but eliminated in Hollywood Week
South Dakota	Madison McKeown[67]	21	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)	Sioux Falls	Top 10	Previously Miss South Dakota Teen USA 2014
Tennessee	Hope Stephens[68]	20	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)	Livingston
Texas	Daniella Rodriguez[69]	19	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)	Laredo		Previously Miss Texas Teen USA 2013
Utah	Teale Murdock[70]	26	5 ft 5 in (165 cm)	Salt Lake City
Vermont	Neely Fortune[71]	24	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)	Burlington
Virginia	Desi Williams[72]	26	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)	Newport News	Top 10	Previously Miss Virginia 2013 Later contestant on Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers
Washington	Kelsey Schmidt[15]	26	5 ft 3 in (160 cm)	Bellevue		Originally first runner-up, but assumed the title after winner Stormy Keffeler resigned due to failing a DUI disclosure.
West Virginia	Nichole Greene[73]	24	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)	Charleston	Top 15
Wisconsin	Kate Redeker[74]	19	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)	Sheboygan	Photogenic	Previously Miss Wisconsin Teen USA 2013
Wyoming	Autumn Olson[75]	22	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)	Saratoga		Previously Miss Wyoming Teen USA 2013
Miss 52 USA	Alexandra Miller[76]	26	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)	Oklahoma City, OK		Previously Miss Oklahoma USA 2015 after Olivia Jordan was crowned Miss USA 2015

International broadcasters

Television

•  United States: Fox
• Africa: DSTV Mzansi Magic (delayed broadcast)
• Asia-Pacific: Star World
•  Venezuela: Venevisión

Notes

References