# Miss Teen USA 2007

Miss Teen USA 2007, the 25th Miss Teen USA pageant, was held on August 24, 2007 in Pasadena, California. At the conclusion of the final night of the competition Hilary Cruz of Colorado was crowned Miss Teen USA 2007 by outgoing titleholder Katie Blair of Montana.
The event was hosted by Mario Lopez, who also hosted Miss Teen USA 1998 and Miss Teen USA 2003. In 2007 he also hosted the Miss America and Miss Universe pageants. The pageant was broadcast on NBC at 8:00 p.m. EST, rather than at 9:00 p.m. EST.
For several years, was the final Miss Teen USA pageant to be televised on broadcast television due to NBC failing to renew its contract. It returned to television in 2024, broadcast on The CW.

## Results
### Placements

| Final Results | Contestant |
| Miss Teen USA 2007 | Colorado – Hilary Cruz |
| 1st Runner-Up | New Jersey – Alyssa Campanella |
| 2nd Runner-Up | North Carolina – Katie Coble |
| 3rd Runner-Up | South Carolina – Caitlin Upton |
| 4th Runner-Up | West Virginia – Chelsea Welch |
| Top 10 | Alabama – Canden Jackson Kansas – Jaymie Stokes Minnesota – Vanessa VonBehren Rhode Island – Rochelle Rose Virginia – Emily Bruce |
| Top 15 | Hawaii – Serena Karnagy Illinois – Victoria Davis New Mexico – Elizabeth Kranz Tennessee – Macy Erwin Wyoming – Mollie Smith |

## Historical significance

* Colorado wins competition for the first time. Also becoming in the 23rd state who wins Miss Teen USA.
* New Jersey earns the 1st runner-up position for the first time.
* North Carolina earns the 2nd runner-up position for the first time.
* South Carolina earns the 3rd runner-up position for the first time.
* West Virginia earns the 4th runner-up position for the first time.
* States that placed in semifinals the previous year were Kansas, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Virginia.
* Kansas and Virginia placed for the third consecutive year.
* New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island and South Carolina made their second consecutive placement.
* Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico and West Virginia last placed in 2005.
* Alabama, Hawaii and Tennessee last placed in 2004.
* Colorado and Wyoming last placed in 1998.
* Michigan and Oklahoma break an ongoing streak of placements since 2005.
* Georgia and Maryland break an ongoing streak of placements since 2004.

## Events

Contestants arrived in Pasadena on August 12 and participated in a number of events in the lead up to the final competition. On August 14 the official swimsuit poster shoot was held by the pool of the Pasadena Hilton, the host hotel.

## Competition rounds
### Finals

The top fifteen was announced during the final telecast and went on to compete in the swimsuit competition, which featured music by Kat DeLuna. Following this the top ten delegates were announced and they competed in evening gowns, to music by the Jonas Brothers. After this, the two special award winners were announced, followed by the announcement of the top five delegates. The interview competition involved the top five answering a question proposed by one of the judges. Each delegate had 30 seconds to answer. Afterwards the judges had one final look at the top five as they cast their votes for the winner and runners-up. Katie Blair then took her final walk and the runners-up and winner was announced.
During the Final Question round, Aimee Teegarden asked Miss South Carolina, Caitlin Upton, why she thought a fifth of Americans are unable to locate the United States on a world map. Upton's response was:
   I personally believe that, U.S. Americans are unable to do so, because some… people out there in our nation that don't have maps, and I believe that our education, like such as in South Africa and the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and I believe that they should… our education over here in the U.S., should help the U.S., er, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future. For our children.
The following Tuesday, August 28, Upton appeared on NBC's Today Show, where Ann Curry gave her the opportunity to formulate a new response to the same question. Upton's new reply was: "Personally, my friends and I, we know exactly where the United States is on our map. I don't know anyone else who doesn't. If the statistics are correct, I believe there should be more emphasis on geography in our education so people will learn how to read maps better." She said that she was "in shock" during the competition and barely heard the question that had been asked.

## Delegates

The Miss Teen USA 2007 delegates were:
| State | Contestant | Hometown | Age | Height | Placement | Awards | Notes |
| Alabama | Canden Jackson | Fairhope | 17 | 5 ft 10 in 178 cm | Top 10 | | |
| Alaska | Muriel Clauson | Anchorage | 17 | 5 ft 9 in 175 cm | | | |
| Arizona | Tiffany Martin | Phoenix | 18 | 5 ft 7 in 170 cm | | | |
| Arkansas | Tiffany Greenstreet | Melbourne | 18 | 5 ft 4 in 163 cm | | | |
| California | Kylee Lin | San Rafael | 16 | 5 ft 6 in 168 cm | | | |
| Colorado | Hilary Cruz | Louisville | 18 | 5 ft 7 in 170 cm | Miss Teen USA 2007 | | |
| Connecticut | Olga Litvinenko | Greenwich | 17 | 5 ft 9 in 175 cm | | | Later Miss Connecticut USA 2017 |
| Delaware | Holly Shively | Newark | 16 | 5 ft 4 in 163 cm | | | |
| District of Columbia | Jasmine Alexis | Washington, D.C. | 16 | 5 ft 5 in 165 cm | | | Later Miss District of Columbia's Outstanding Teen 2008 and Top 10 at Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2009 |
| Florida | Annilie Hastey | Miami | 18 | 5 ft 8 in 173 cm | | | |
| Georgia | Jena Sims | Winder | 18 | 5 ft 8 in 173 cm | | | |
| Hawaii | Serena Karnagy | Honolulu | 16 | 5 ft 5 in 165 cm | Top 15 | | Later competed at Miss International 2008 as Hawaii's representative. |
| Idaho | Krista McNeal | Sandpoint | 18 | 5 ft 8 in 173 cm | | | |
| Illinois | Victoria Davis | Thawville | 18 | 5 ft 8 in 173 cm | Top 15 | | |
| Indiana | Victoria Tomlinson | Anderson | 19 | 5 ft 7 in 170 cm | | | |
| Iowa | Dakota Crosswhite | Cedar Rapids | 18 | 5 ft 5 in 165 cm | | | |
| Kansas | Jaymie Stokes | Lenexa | 16 | 5 ft 11 in 180 cm | Top 10 | | Later Miss Kansas USA 2011 |
| Kentucky | Katrina Giannini | Princeton | 17 | 5 ft 8 in 173 cm | | | |
| Louisiana | Logan Travis | Amite City | 15 | 5 ft 7 in 170 cm | | | |
| Maine | Amanda Pelletier | Vassalboro | 18 | 5 ft 3 in 160 cm | | | |
| Maryland | Allison Farrow | Earleville | 18 | 5 ft 6 in 168 cm | | Miss Photogenic | |
| Massachusetts | Kathleen McNiff | Groton | 17 | 5 ft 8 in 173 cm | | | |
| Michigan | Caitlin Klug | Eau Claire | 18 | 5 ft 4 in 163 cm | | | |
| Minnesota | Vanessa Vonbehren | Apple Valley | 17 | 5 ft 7 in 170 cm | Top 10 | | |
| Mississippi | Anne Elise Parks | New Albany | 18 | 5 ft 9 in 175 cm | | Miss Congeniality | |
| Missouri | Lauren Peterson | Farmington | 16 | 5 ft 10 in 178 cm | | | Later top 20 at Miss Grand International 2015 |
| Montana | Chelsea Nelson | Billings | 17 | 5 ft 9 in 175 cm | | | |
| Nebraska | Lauren Clabaugh | Omaha | 16 | 5 ft 7 in 170 cm | | | |
| Nevada | Danielle Hashimoto | Reno | 16 | 5 ft 4 in 163 cm | | | |
| New Hampshire | Alexandra MacDonald | Gilford | 18 | 5 ft 3 in 160 cm | | | |
| New Jersey | Alyssa Campanella | Manalapan | 17 | 5 ft 8 in 173 cm | 1st runner-up | | Later Miss California USA 2011 and Miss USA 2011 |
| New Mexico | Liz Kranz | Deming | 17 | 5 ft 8 in 173 cm | Top 15 | | |
| New York | Tatiana Pallagi | Avon | 17 | 5 ft 7 in 170 cm | | | |
| North Carolina | Katie Coble | Charlotte | 17 | 5 ft 7 in 170 cm | 2nd runner-up | | Later Miss North Carolina USA 2017 |
| North Dakota | Taylor Kearns | Fargo | 18 | 5 ft 7 in 170 cm | | | Later Miss North Dakota USA 2010 |
| Ohio | Rachel Epperly | Gahanna | 18 | 5 ft 6 in 168 cm | | | |
| Oklahoma | Paige Hill | Oklahoma City | 16 | 6 ft 0 in 183 cm | | | |
| Oregon | Whitney Whitehouse | Bend | 17 | 5 ft 6 in 168 cm | | | |
| Pennsylvania | Kelsie Sinagra | Pittsburgh | 17 | 5 ft 5 in 165 cm | | | |
| Rhode Island | Rochelle Rose | Jamestown | 15 | 5 ft 7 in 170 cm | Top 10 | | |
| South Carolina | Caitlin Upton | Lexington | 18 | 5 ft 9 in 175 cm | 3rd runner-up | | Gained notoriety following her answer to the final question, which was criticized as "strange" and "grammarless". Videos of her response were posted to YouTube and have received millions of views. Placed third with her then boyfriend Brent Horne on The Amazing Race 16. |
| South Dakota | Kari Schull | Watertown | 17 | 5 ft 9 in 175 cm | | | |
| Tennessee | Macy Erwin | Chattanooga | 17 | 5 ft 7 in 170 cm | Top 15 | | |
| Texas | Sommer Isdale | Harker Heights | 16 | 5 ft 8 in 173 cm | | | |
| Utah | Kelsey Brigel | Draper | 17 | 5 ft 7 in 170 cm | | | |
| Vermont | Olivia Hubbard | Rutland | 17 | 5 ft 6 in 168 cm | | | |
| Virginia | Emily Bruce | Lynchburg | 17 | 5 ft 9 in 175 cm | Top 10 | | |
| Washington | Shalane Larango | Vancouver | 18 | 5 ft 9 in 175 cm | | | Previously Miss Washington's Outstanding Teen 2005, 2nd runner-up at Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2006 |
| West Virginia | Chelsea Welch | West Union | 16 | 5 ft 9 in 175 cm | 4th runner-up | | Later Miss West Virginia USA 2013 and Top 15 at Miss USA 2013 |
| Wisconsin | Shauna Sabir | Milwaukee | 17 | 5 ft 5 in 165 cm | | | |
| Wyoming | Mollie Smith | Casper | 17 | 5 ft 8 in 173 cm | Top 15 | | |

### Contestant gallery

* Muriel Clauson, Miss Alaska Teen USA 2007
* Tiffany Martin, Miss Arizona Teen USA 2007
* Kylee Lin, Miss California Teen USA 2007
* Jasmine Alexis (right), Miss District of Columbia Teen USA 2007
* Jena Sims, Miss Georgia Teen USA 2007
* Serena Karnagy, Miss Hawaii Teen USA 2007
* Dakota Crosswhite, Miss Iowa Teen USA 2007
* Logan Travis, Miss Louisiana Teen USA 2007
* Vanessa Vonbehren, Miss Minnesota Teen USA 2007
* Alyssa Campanella, Miss New Jersey Teen USA 2007, Miss California USA 2011, Miss USA 2011
* Tatiana Pallagi, Miss New York Teen USA 2007
* Katie Coble, Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2007
* Paige Hill, Miss Oklahoma Teen USA 2007
* Kelsie Sinagra, Miss Pennsylvania Teen USA 2007
* Macy Erwin, Miss Tennessee Teen USA 2007
* Sommer Isdale, Miss Texas Teen USA 2007
* Kelsey Brigel, Miss Utah Teen USA 2007
* Chelsea Welch, Miss West Virginia Teen USA 2007
* Shauna Sabir, Miss Wisconsin Teen USA 2007