# Miss USA 2013

Miss USA 2013 was the 62nd Miss USA pageant, held on June 16, 2013 at The AXIS in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 50 states and the District of Columbia competed for the title and the pageant was televised live on NBC. Outgoing titleholder Nana Meriwether of Maryland crowned her successor Erin Brady of Connecticut at the end of the event. This was Connecticut's first ever Miss USA crown.
Viewers were able to interact with the pageant via Twitter and Zeebox. Fans were able to vote for their favorite contestant through the Miss USA website, from May 15 to June 15. Jessica Billings, Miss Pennsylvania USA, winner of this fan vote won top 15 placement on the final night. Miss Texas USA, Alexandria Nugent, won the most Twitter votes among the top 10, winning her a place in the top 6.

## Background
### Selection of contestants

One delegate from each state and the District of Columbia was chosen in state pageants held which began in July 2012 and ended in January 2013. The first state pageant was Florida, held on July 14, 2012 as scheduled. The final pageants were Maine and Nevada, both held on January 27, 2013.
Ten delegates are former Miss Teen USA state winners, while two are former Miss America state winners and the other two are also former Miss America's Outstanding Teen state winners. Courtney Gifford became the first former Miss America's Outstanding Teen contestant winning the Miss USA state title.

### Preliminary round

Prior to the final telecast, the delegates competed in the preliminary competition, which involves private interviews with the judges and a presentation show where they compete in swimsuit and evening gown. The preliminary competition took place on June 12, 2013, at 10 pm (ET) hosted by Chet Buchanan and Nana Meriwether, and was broadcast online on the official Miss USA website via stream.

### Finals

During the final competition, the top fifteen competed in swimsuit, while the top ten competed evening gown, and the top six competed in the final question signed up by a panel of judges. The sixth finalist was determined by Twitter vote.

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss USA 2013 | Connecticut – Erin Brady |
| 1st Runner-Up | Alabama – Mary-Margaret McCord |
| 2nd Runner-Up | Illinois – Stacie Juris |
| 3rd Runner-Up | Utah – Marissa Powell |
| 4th Runner-Up | Texas – Alexandria Nugent § |
| 5th Runner-Up | South Carolina – Megan Pinckney |
| Top 10 | Louisiana – Kristen Girault  Nevada – Chelsea Caswell  North Carolina – Ashley Love-Mills  Ohio – Kristin Smith |
| Top 15 | California – Mabelynn Capeluj  Maryland – Kasey Staniszewski  Massachusetts – Sarah Kidd  Pennsylvania – Jessica Billings ‡  West Virginia – Chelsea Welch |
‡ Voted into Top 15 via Internet
§ Voted into Top 6 after the evening gown competition via Twitter

## Delegates

51 delegates participated:
| State/district | Contestant | Hometown | Age | Height | Placement | Notes |
| Alabama | Mary Margaret McCord | Gadsden | 23 | 5'7" | 1st Runner-Up | |
| Alaska | Melissa McKinney | Anchorage | 26 | 5'11" | | |
| Arizona | Rachel Massie | Glendale | 20 | 5'6" | | |
| Arkansas | Hannah Billingsley | Franklin | 22 | 5'7" | | |
| California | Mabelynn Capeluj | San Diego | 21 | 5'8" | Top 15 | Later competed at Nuestra Belleza Latina 2015 |
| Colorado | Amanda Wiley | Littleton | 26 | 5'10" | | |
| Connecticut | Erin Brady | East Hampton | 26 | 5'7" | Miss USA 2013 | Top 10 at Miss Universe 2013 |
| Delaware | Rachel Baiocco | Bear | 22 | 5'6" | | |
| District of Columbia | Jessica Frith | Washington, D.C. | 26 | 5'6" | | |
| Florida | Michelle Aguirre | Hialeah | 20 | 5'7" | | |
| Georgia | Brittany Sharp | Roswell | 22 | 5'10" | | Previously Miss Georgia Teen USA 2006 |
| Hawaii | Brianna Acosta | Waialua | 21 | 5'10" | | |
| Idaho | Marissa Wickland | Boise | 21 | 5'6" | | Previously Miss Idaho Teen USA 2009 |
| Illinois | Stacie Juris | Chicago | 22 | 5'7" | 2nd Runner-Up | Previously Miss Illinois Teen USA 2009 |
| Indiana | Emily Hart | Fort Wayne | 26 | 5'9" | | |
| Iowa | Richelle Orr | Hampton | 21 | 5'3" | | Previously Miss Iowa Teen USA 2011 |
| Kansas | Staci Klinginsmith | Lenexa | 26 | 5'8" | | |
| Kentucky | Allie Leggett | McCreary County | 19 | 5'7" | | |
| Louisiana | Kristen Girault | New Orleans | 22 | 5'8" | Top 10 | |
| Maine | Ali Clair | South China | 24 | 5'9" | | |
| Maryland | Kasey Staniszewski | Annapolis | 22 | 5'9" | Top 15 | Previously Miss Maryland's Outstanding Teen 2007 Previously Miss Maryland Teen USA 2009 |
| Massachusetts | Sarah Kidd | Leominster | 20 | 5'8" | Top 15 | |
| Michigan | Jaclyn Schultz | Wyandotte | 24 | 6'0" | | Later contestant of Survivor: San Juan del Sur |
| Minnesota | Danielle Hooper | Inver Grove Heights | 21 | 5'9" | | |
| Mississippi | Paromita Mitra | Hattiesburg | 22 | 5'3" | | Previously Miss Mississippi Teen USA 2009 |
| Missouri | Ellie Holtman | Montgomery City | 21 | 5'11" | | |
| Montana | Kacie West | Kalispell | 24 | 5'8" | | Previously Miss Montana 2010 |
| Nebraska | Ellie Lorenzen | Omaha | 23 | 5'7" | | |
| Nevada | Chelsea Caswell | Summerlin | 23 | 5'8" | Top 10 | |
| New Hampshire | Amber Faucher | Pelham | 22 | 5'6" | | Previously Miss New Hampshire Teen USA 2009 |
| New Jersey | Libel Duran | Keasbey | 23 | 5'8" | | |
| New Mexico | Kathleen Danzer | Rio Rancho | 24 | 5'8" | | |
| New York | Joanne Nosuchinsky | Hell's Kitchen | 24 | 5'7" | | |
| North Carolina | Ashley Love-Mills | Raleigh | 24 | 5'9" | Top 10 | |
| North Dakota | Stephanie Erickson | Fargo | 23 | 5'9" | | |
| Ohio | Kristin Smith | Dayton | 22 | 5'8" | Top 10 | |
| Oklahoma | Makenzie Muse | Yukon | 21 | 5'8" | | |
| Oregon | Gabrielle Neilan | Gresham | 23 | 5'5" | | Miss Congeniality |
| Pennsylvania | Jessica Billings | Philadelphia | 26 | 5'9" | Top 15 | Won top 15 semifinalist spot via online voting |
| Rhode Island | Brittany Stenovitch | Cranston | 19 | 5'6" | | |
| South Carolina | Megan Pinckney | North Charleston | 22 | 5'8" | 5th Runner-Up | Previously Miss South Carolina Teen USA 2010 |
| South Dakota | Jessica Albers | Yankton | 27 | 5'10" | | |
| Tennessee | Brenna Mader | Nashville | 26 | 5'9" | | Previously Miss Wyoming Teen USA 2005 Sister of Jamie Mader, Miss Wyoming Teen USA 2002 |
| Texas | Ali Nugent | Dallas | 20 | 5'9" | 4th Runner-Up | Won top 6 finalist spot via Twitter |
| Utah | Marissa Powell | Salt Lake City | 21 | 5'8" | 3rd Runner-Up | Miss Photogenic |
| Vermont | Sarah Westbrook | Burlington | 25 | 5'7" | | |
| Virginia | Shannon McAnally | Arlington | 25 | 5'5" | | |
| Washington | Cassandra Searles | Redmond | 24 | 5'7" | | |
| West Virginia | Chelsea Welch | West Union | 22 | 5'10" | Top 15 | Previously Miss West Virginia Teen USA 2007 |
| Wisconsin | Chrissy Zamora | Milwaukee | 26 | 5'8" | | |
| Wyoming | Courtney Gifford | Sheridan | 24 | 5'7" | | Previously Miss Wyoming's Outstanding Teen 2005 Previously Miss Wyoming 2008 |

## Judges

Preliminary Judges:
* Andrea Calvaruso
* Fred Nelson
* Kristin Boehm
* Kristin Prowty
* Lynne Diamante
* Nick Light
* Rob Goldstone
Telecast Judges:
* Bob Harper - trainer and star of The Biggest Loser
* Betsey Johnson - fashion designer
* NeNe Leakes - reality show star, actress
* Wendie Malick - star of Hot in Cleveland
* Jessica Robertson - star of reality show Duck Dynasty
* Larry Fitzgerald - Arizona Cardinals wide receiver
* Nikki Bella - WWE Diva wrestler
* Mo Rocca - TV/radio/blog political satirist