Miss USA 2019

Miss USA 2019 was the 68th Miss USA pageant, held at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada on May 2, 2019.^[1] The 2019 competition served as the second consecutive time that the pageant has been held concurrently with the Miss Teen USA competition. This was also the final pageant where it was televised on Fox.

Miss USA 2019
Cheslie Kryst
Date	May 2, 2019
Presenters	Nick Lachey Vanessa Lachey Lu Sierra
Entertainment	T-Pain Nick Lachey
Venue	Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, Nevada
Broadcaster	Fox(KRXI-TV) Azteca
Entrants	51
Placements	15
Winner	Cheslie Kryst North Carolina
Congeniality	Tate Fritchley, Indiana
← 2018 2020 →

The contest was won by Cheslie Kryst of North Carolina, who was crowned by Sarah Rose Summers of Nebraska. This was North Carolina's third time winning the Miss USA title, and its first in ten years.^[2] Kryst was the first non-consecutive African American to win the title and the third one in four years.^[3] Kryst represented the United States at Miss Universe 2019, placing in the top ten.^[4]

Contestants from fifty states and the District of Columbia competed in this edition. Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey served as hosts, while Lu Sierra served as commentator.^[5][6] T-Pain and Nick Lachey performed in this edition.^[7]

Background

Location and date

Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, the host venue of the Miss USA 2019 competition.

On March 28, 2019, the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) confirmed that the pageant would be held on May 2 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada.^[1][8] Shortly afterwards, it was confirmed that Miss USA 2018 hosts Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey would be returning to host the 2019 competition.^[6]

Following the announcement of Reno being selected as the competition's host city, it emerged that the MUO were originally planning on holding the competition in Honolulu, Hawaii. The plan was rejected by Hawaiian officials and relocated to Reno by the MUO after the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) reported that they would be unable to secure the funds to host the competition that the MUO had requested, adding that they would be interested in hosting in the future.^[9]

Selection of participants

Delegates from 50 states and the District of Columbia were selected in state pageants that began in August 2018 and ended in January 2019. The first state pageant was Alaska, held on August 4, 2018, and the final pageants were California, Kentucky and New Mexico, both held on January 27, 2019. Seven of them were former Miss Teen USA state winners, three of them were former Miss America state winners and two of them were former Miss America's Outstanding Teen state winners.^[a]

Results

Miss USA 2019 results.

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss USA 2019	North Carolina – Cheslie Kryst[10]
1st runner-up	New Mexico – Alejandra Gonzalez[10]
2nd runner-up	Oklahoma – Triana Browne[10]
Top 5	Arkansas – Savannah Skidmore[10]  Nevada – Tianna Tuamoheloa[10]
Top 10	District of Columbia – Cordelia Cranshaw[10]  Florida – Nicolette Jennings[10]  Kansas – Alyssa Klinzing[10]  Maryland – Mariela Pepin[10]  Ohio – Alice Magoto[10]
Top 15	Hawaii – Lacie Choy[10]  Iowa – Baylee Drezek[10]  Louisiana – Victoria Paul[10]  Minnesota – Catherine Stanley[10]  Pennsylvania – Kailyn Marie Perez[10]

Special awards

Award	Contestant
Miss Congeniality	Indiana – Tate Fritchley[11]

Pageant

Format

Same as the previous year, during the final competition, the results of the preliminary competition — which consisted of the swimsuit competition, the evening gown competition, and the closed-door interview determined the fifteen semi-finalists who advanced at the first cut. The fifteen semi-finalists competed in the swimsuit competition, while 10 competed in the evening gown competition. Five finalists were chosen to competed in a question round regarding current affairs, while three finalists competed in the final question round and final walk.^[10]

Judges

• Nicole Feld – businesswoman, producer, and vice president for Feld Entertainment, Inc.^[12]
• Kim Kaupe – businesswoman and co-founder of The Superfan Company^[13]
• Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters – Miss Universe 2017 from South Africa^[14]
• Ukonwa Ojo – marketing executive for CoverGirl, Rimmel, and Vera Wang^[15]
• Amy Palmer – journalist and media entrepreneur^[16]
• Denise Quiñones – Miss Universe 2001 from Puerto Rico^[17]
• Hillary Schieve – politician and Mayor of Reno, Nevada^[18]
• Patricia Southall – philanthropist and Miss Virginia USA 1994^[19]

Contestants

Fifty-one contestants competed for the title.^[20]

State/district	Contestant	Age[b]	Hometown	Notes
Alabama	Hannah McMurphy[21]	21	Tuscaloosa
Alaska	JoEllen Walters[22]	25	Eagle River
Arizona	Savannah Wix[23]	23	Paradise Valley	Previously Miss Arizona Teen USA 2014
Arkansas	Savannah Skidmore[24]	24	Calico Rock	Previously Miss Arkansas 2016[a][25]
California	Erica Dann[26]	27	San Francisco
Colorado	Madison Dorenkamp[27]	26	Lamar
Connecticut	Acacia Courtney[28]	26	Hamden	Previously Miss Connecticut's Outstanding Teen 2009[29] Previously Miss Connecticut 2014[30][31]
Delaware	Jolisa Copeman[32]	24	Middletown
District of Columbia	Cordelia Cranshaw[33]	26	Washington, D.C.
Florida	Nicolette Jennings[34]	22	Clearwater
Georgia	Katerina Rozmajzl[35]	21	Atlanta
Hawaii	Lacie Choy[36]	20	Honolulu
Idaho	Shelby Brown[37]	25	Boise
Illinois	Alexandra Plotz[38]	24	Geneva	Previously Miss Illinois Teen USA 2012 Later Miss Illinois World 2019
Indiana	Tate Fritchley[39]	21	Evansville
Iowa	Baylee Drezek[40]	21	Davenport
Kansas	Alyssa Klinzing[41]	21	Olathe	Previously Miss Kansas Teen USA 2013 Later Miss California Earth USA 2021
Kentucky	Jordan Weiter[42]	22	Louisville
Louisiana	Victoria Paul[43]	26	Alexandria	Contestant on season 24 of The Bachelor and season 7 of Bachelor in Paradise
Maine	Lexie Elston[44]	23	Windham
Maryland	Mariela Pepin[45]	23	Severn	Previously Miss Maryland Teen USA 2014 Top 10 finalist at Miss World America 2017 Contestant on season 25 of The Bachelor and season 7 of Bachelor in Paradise
Massachusetts	Kelly O'Grady[46]	28	Boston
Michigan	Alyse Madej[47]	26	Garden City
Minnesota	Cat Stanley[48]	23	Bloomington	Previously Miss Minnesota Teen USA 2014
Mississippi	Madeleine Overby[49]	21	Columbus	Former New Orleans Saintsation cheerleader
Missouri	Miriah Jo Ludtke[50]	25	St. Louis
Montana	Grace Zitzer[51]	27	Dillon
Nebraska	Lex Najarian[52]	25	Lincoln
Nevada	Tianna Tuamoheloa[53]	26	Las Vegas
New Hampshire	Alexis Chinn[54]	22	Manchester	Previously Miss Northwest Earth United States 2016
New Jersey	Manya Saaraswat[55]	21	Marlboro	Later Miss Pennsylvania World 2020
New Mexico	Alejandra Gonzalez[56]	26	Las Cruces
New York	Florinda Kajtazi[57]	27	Yonkers
North Carolina	Cheslie Corrinne Kryst[58]	28	Charlotte
North Dakota	Samantha Redding[59]	22	Burlington
Ohio	Alice Magoto[60]	21	Cincinnati	Previously Miss Ohio 2016[61]
Oklahoma	Triana Browne[62]	26	Tulsa	Previously Miss Oklahoma 2017[63]
Oregon	Natalie Tonneson[64]	28	Portland
Pennsylvania	Kailyn Marie Perez[65]	27	Camp Hill	Previously Miss Florida World 2015
Rhode Island	Nicole Pallozzi[66]	23	Providence
South Carolina	MaKenzie Divina[67]	21	Clemson
South Dakota	Abigail Merschman[68]	22	Sioux Falls
Tennessee	Savana Hodge[69]	25	Nashville
Texas	Alayah Benavidez[70]	23	San Antonio	Previously Miss United States 2016 Contestant on season 24 of The Bachelor
Utah	Amanda Renée Giroux[71]	23	Salt Lake City
Vermont	Bethany Garrow[72]	20	Rutland
Virginia	Courtney Lynne Smits[73]	22	Woodbridge	Previously Miss Georgia Teen USA 2012
Washington	Evelyn Clark[74]	27	Cathlamet
West Virginia	Haley Holloway[75]	24	Morgantown	Previously Miss West Virginia Teen USA 2013
Wisconsin	Danika Tramburg[76]	22	Hubertus
Wyoming	Addison Treesh[77]	19	Gillette	Previously Miss Wyoming's Outstanding Teen 2014[78]

Notes

1. Savannah Skidmore, the reigning Miss Arkansas USA, previously inherited the Miss Arkansas title after Savvy Shields won Miss America 2017 but never competed in Miss America.
2. Ages at the time of the pageant