Miss Teen USA 2022

Miss Teen USA 2022 was the 40th Miss Teen USA pageant, held at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, United States, on October 1, 2022.

Miss Teen USA 2022
Date	October 1, 2022
Presenters	Elle Smith Christian Murphy
Venue	Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, Nevada, United States
Broadcaster	YouTube
Entrants	51
Placements	16
Winner	Faron Medhi Nebraska
Congeniality	Janae McIntosh (Nevada)
Photogenic	Gabriela Ortega (North Carolina)
← 2021 2023 →

Breanna Myles of Florida crowned Faron Medhi of Nebraska as her successor at the end of the event.^[1]

Background

Location

Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, the host venue of the Miss Teen USA 2022 competition

On July 14, 2022, it was reported that the competition, including Miss USA 2022, would be held in Reno, Nevada, with the city securing a three-year deal to host the pageants in 2022, 2023, and 2024.^[2] This will be the second time that the pageant is held in Reno, following Miss Teen USA 2019.^[3][4] The following day, it was confirmed that the pageant would be held at the Grand Sierra Resort on October 1 by Crystle Stewart who confirmed that the location was chosen to honor Cheslie Kryst, whom had been crowned Miss USA 2019 in the same venue and had died by suicide in January 2022.^[5]

Selection of contestants

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the duration between most of the state pageants from the previous year's competition, with previous year's state titleholders' reign being shortened to eight to eleven months, depending on state. Delegates from the 50 states and the District of Columbia are selected in state pageants which began in September 2021 and ended in July 2022, as the state pageant schedule can become very dense between the last state pageant held from 2021. The first state pageants were Idaho and Montana, held together on September 12, 2021, and the last state pageant was Colorado held on July 3, 2022.

Results

Placements

Miss Teen USA 2022 results.

Placement	Contestant
Miss Teen USA 2022[1]	Nebraska – Faron Medhi
1st Runner-Up[6]	Idaho – Jenna Beckstrom
2nd Runner-Up	California – Cassidy Hill
3rd Runner-Up	Michigan – Isabella Mosqueda
4th Runner-Up	Tennessee – McKinley Farese
Top 16[7]	Arizona – MayaDenise Gaskin  Florida – Alyssa Khan  Georgia – Courtney Ianna Smith  Hawaii – Malulani Paiste  Iowa – Marisa Mathson  Kansas – Gracie Hendrickson  Nevada – Janae McIntosh  North Carolina – Gabriela Ortega  Ohio – Kylan Darnell §  Oklahoma – Haleigh Hurst  Wisconsin – Sage Gundelly

§ – Voted into Top 16 through the online vote.

Special awards

Award		Contestant	Ref.
Best State Costume	Winner	Oklahoma – Haleigh Hurst	[8]
	Second Place	North Carolina – Gabriela Ortega
	Third Place	Wisconsin – Sage Gundelly
Miss Congeniality		Nevada – Janae McIntosh	[9]
Miss Photogenic		North Carolina – Gabriela Ortega	[10]

Order of Announcements

Top 16

1. Arizona
2. Florida
3. Kansas
4. Nevada
5. Iowa
6. Ohio
7. Georgia
8. Wisconsin
9. North Carolina
10. Hawaii
11. California
12. Michigan
13. Nebraska
14. Idaho
15. Tennessee
16. Oklahoma

Top 5

1. California
2. Tennessee
3. Michigan
4. Idaho
5. Nebraska

Pageant

Judges

• Allan Aponte – Puerto Rican makeup artist^[11]
• Kaliegh Garris – Miss Teen USA 2019 from Connecticut^[11]
• Bob Hartnagel – American public affairs consultant^[11]
• Anita Krpata – American businesswoman and chief commercial officer (CCO) of SeneGence^[11]
• Tanya Memme – Canadian television host and Miss World Canada 1993^[11]
• Keylee Sanders Helmich – Miss Teen USA 1995 from Kansas^[11]

Contestants

All 51 titleholders have been crowned.^[12]

State	Contestant	Age[a]	Hometown	Placement	Notes
Alabama	AnnaLee Story[13]	19	Auburn
Alaska	Madison Hines	17	Eagle River
Arizona	MayaDenise Gaskin	18	Phoenix	Top 16	Previously Miss Arizona Collegiate America 2021
Arkansas	Allie Shanks[14]	17	Springdale
California	Cassidy Hill	18	Newport Beach	2nd Runner-Up
Colorado	Chloe Fisher	18	Sterling
Connecticut	Mya Xeller	18	New Haven
Delaware	Ava MacMurray	18	Hockessin
District of Columbia	Asia Hickman	19	Washington, D.C.		Previously Miss New York's Outstanding Teen 2017
Florida	Alyssa Khan	19	Cooper City	Top 16
Georgia	Courtney Ianna Smith	16	Atlanta	Top 16
Hawaii	Malulani Paiste[15]	19	Mililani	Top 16
Idaho	Jenna Beckstrom	18	Eagle	1st Runner-Up
Illinois	Dawn Parks	19	Chicago
Indiana	KK Kokonaing[16]	18	Huntertown
Iowa	Marisa Mathson	17	Des Moines	Top 16
Kansas	Gracie Hendrickson	17	Newton	Top 16	Previously Miss Kansas' Outstanding Teen 2021
Kentucky	Gabriella Hembree	19	Carrollton
Louisiana	Ainsley Ross	19	Bossier City
Maine	Madisson Higgins	16	Bangor
Maryland	Soniya Krishan	19	Wheaton
Massachusetts	Jillian Driscoll[17]	18	Lynnfield		Daughter of Jacquelyn Doucette Driscoll, Miss Massachusetts USA 1996.
Michigan	Isabella Mosqueda	19	Cedar Springs	3rd Runner-Up
Minnesota	Ava Ernst	17	North Oaks		Previously Miss Minnesota High School America 2021
Mississippi	McKenzie Cole[18]	16	Vicksburg
Missouri	Shae Smith	19	Bolivar		Previously Miss Missouri's Outstanding Teen 2019
Montana	Julia Kunau[19]	16	Lewistown
Nebraska	Faron Medhi	18	Omaha	Miss Teen USA 2022
Nevada	Janae McIntosh	18	Las Vegas	Top 16
New Hampshire	Grace Paradise	18	Plaistow
New Jersey	Isabella Galan	17	Wayne
New Mexico	Caroline Babcock	17	Farmington
New York	Mahdiya Chowdhury	17	New York City
North Carolina	Gabriela Ortega[20]	17	Cary	Top 16
North Dakota	Berkley Lundeen	18	Minot		Cousin of Caitlyn Vogel, Miss North Dakota Teen USA 2019 and Miss North Dakota USA 2021
Ohio	Kylan Darnell	18	Franklin Furnace	Top 16
Oklahoma	Haleigh Hurst	19	Norman	Top 16
Oregon	Alaina McClanen-Clemons[21]	18	Portland
Pennsylvania	Alexandra Jones	18	Monongahela
Rhode Island	Julia Potts	18	Charlestown
South Carolina	Katie Ward[citation needed]	19	Charleston
South Dakota	Bella Welker	17	Harrisburg
Tennessee	McKinley Farese[22]	18	Germantown	4th Runner-Up	Previously Miss Kentucky Junior High School America 2017, Miss Tennessee Junior High School America 2018
Texas	Chanel Williams[23]	16	San Antonio
Utah	Maizy Abbott	19	Pleasant View
Vermont	Kenzie Golonka[24]	17	Montpelier		Sister of Kelsey Golonka, Miss Vermont Teen USA 2017 and Miss Vermont USA 2022
Virginia	Hannah Grau	17	Fredericksburg
Washington	Kate Dixon	18	Sammamish		Shortly after being crowned, a video of Dixon saying the N-word surfaced causing a controversy.[25][26] Pageant organizers allowed Dixon to begin her reign.
West Virginia	Emma Kitchen	18	Williamstown
Wisconsin	Sage Gundelly	15	Mequon	Top 16	Sister of Shreya Gundelly, Miss Wisconsin Teen USA 2021
Wyoming	Nora Steinke[27]	17	Laramie		Cousin of Erin Shae Swanson, Miss Nebraska Teen USA 2019

Notes

1. Ages at the time of the pageant

References

1. "Miss Teen USA 2022 is @faronmedhi from Nebraska!!". Instagram. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
2. Hidalgo, Jason. "Reno secures 3-year Miss USA and Miss Teen USA deal". Reno Gazette Journal.
3. "It's official: Miss USA Pageant to be held in Reno". KOLO-TV. March 29, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
4. Hidalgo, Jason (March 28, 2019). "It's official: Miss USA pageant coming to Reno after RSCVA approves $350,000 in funding". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
5. Vulpo, Mike; Sobol, Beth (July 15, 2022). "How the Miss USA 2022 Pageant Will Honor Cheslie Kryst After Her Death". E! Online.
6. "Top 5!". Instagram. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
7. "The top 16!!!". Instagram. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
8. "And the winner is… @missokteenusa!!!". Instagram. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
9. "Introducing our Miss Congeniality 2022… @missnvteenusa!". Instagram. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
10. "Let's hear some noise for our Miss Photogenic 2022 @missncteenusa!". Instagram. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
11. "We kick off our judges' panel with..." Miss USA Organization. September 29, 2022.
12. "Teen Contestants". Miss USA Organization. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
13. Luna, Ben (January 16, 2022). "Lawrence County Native Named Miss Teen Alabama". SRadio7 Media. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
14. "Miss Arkansas USA winners crowned during pageant in Fort Smith". KFSM-TV. April 11, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
15. "Newly Crowned Miss Hawaii USA and Miss Hawaii Teen USA Talk Plans For 2022". Living808. KHON2. February 21, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
16. "Miss Indiana Teen USA shares her journey in faith". WISH-TV. August 9, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
17. Tobin, Anne Marie (March 30, 2022). "MASSACHUSETTS TEEN USA IS A FAMILY AFFAIR". itemlive.com. The Daily Item. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
18. Frazier, Terry C. (April 6, 2022). "Vicksburg's McKenzie Cole wins Miss Mississippi Teen USA". Vicksburg Post. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
19. Depping, Meridith (September 14, 2021). "Fergus High School sophomore named Miss Montana Teen USA". Montana Right Now. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
20. Troiano, Naomi (February 25, 2021). "Gabby Ortega Crowned Miss Teen NC 2022". The Green Hope Falcon. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
21. "Miss Oregon USA and Miss Oregon Teen USA!". KATU. March 21, 2021.
22. Shoup, Craig (March 13, 2022). "Franklin woman, Memphis teen crowned Miss Tennessee, Tennessee Teen USA in Clarksville". Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
23. Diaz, John (July 4, 2022). "First Filipina crowned Miss Texas USA". KHOU-TV. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
24. Pollak, Sally (March 28, 2022). "Montpelier's Golonka Sisters Win Miss Vermont and Miss Vermont Teen USA Crowns". Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
25. "Miss Teen Washington USA responds to resurfaced video of her using racial slur". Tacoma: KCPQ. February 8, 2022.
26. Medina, Wendy (February 8, 2022), "Newly Crowned Miss Washington Teen USA Slammed For Using N-Word In A TikTok", Black Enterprise
27. "Miss Wyoming Teen USA". Miss Wyoming USA & Teen USA pageants.

External links

• Miss Teen USA official website