# Miss USA 2022

Miss USA 2022 was the 71st Miss USA pageant, held at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada on 3 October 2022.
At the end of the event, Elle Smith of Kentucky crowned R'Bonney Gabriel of Texas as Miss USA 2022. This was Texas' tenth Miss USA title and first win in 14 years. At the age of 28 years, 6 months and 13 days, Gabriel became the oldest Miss USA winner in the pageant's history, surpassing Cheslie Kryst in 2019, who was also 28 when she crowned, and the first titleholder of Filipino descent.
Gabriel went on to win Miss Universe in New Orleans, becoming the ninth American woman to do so. With the win, her title was rescinded, and the first runner-up, Morgan Romano of North Carolina, assumed the Miss USA title on January 27, 2023 in a ceremony in Auburn, Alabama. Romano became the fourth woman from North Carolina to hold the Miss USA title.
The competition was hosted by Zuri Hall for the second consecutive year, while Julissa Bermudez and Micah Jesse served as sideline correspondents. This competition was broadcast on the FYI cable channel. American musician Chloe Flower performed in this edition.

## Background
### Location, hosts, and performer

On 14 July 2022, it was reported that the competition would be held in Reno, Nevada, with the city securing a three-year deal to host the pageant. This would be the second time that the pageant is held in Reno, following Miss USA 2019. The following day, it was confirmed that the pageant would be held at the Grand Sierra Resort on October 3. National Director Crystle Stewart 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.

### Selection of contestants

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the duration between most of the state pageants from Miss USA 2021. The previous year's state titleholders' reign was shortened to between eight and eleven months, depending on the state. Delegates from the 50 states and the District of Columbia are selected in state pageants in a period began in September 2021 and scheduled to end in July 2022 to avoid scheduling conflicts with Miss America 2023 state pageants. The state pageant schedule can become very busy between the last state pageant held from 2021. The first state pageants were Miss Idaho USA and Miss Montana USA, held together on September 12, 2021, and the last state pageant was Miss Colorado USA, held on July 3, 2022.
Eleven delegates have previously competed in Miss Teen USA and Miss America, eight are former Miss Teen USA state winners, two are a former Miss America state titleholders, and one is a former Miss America's Outstanding Teen state titleholder.

### Controversy

In 2020, Crystle Stewart, who had previously won the Miss USA 2008 competition while representing Texas, became the National Director of the Miss USA pageant. In September 2022, prior to the national competition, state officials had expressed concern that Stewart, as the most recent Miss Texas USA winner to win the national-level competition, was providing preferential treatment to the 2022 Miss Texas USA winner, R'Bonney Gabriel. Less than 24 hours after Gabriel ultimately won the October 2022 competition, pageant sponsor Nizuc Resort and Spa posted videos on Instagram showing Gabriel at their resort in Cancún, Mexico. While the state-level winners had visited the resort prior to the national competition, Gabriel and Miss Colorado USA Alexis Glover did not attend this retreat because their respective state competitions occurred afterward. Citing the promotional footage, Miss Montana USA Heather Lee O'Keefe and Miss Georgia USA Holly Haynes alleged that Gabriel had been rigged to win the competition, but the Miss USA organization claimed that Gabriel had immediately flown from the pageant venue to the resort after winning the competition. In an interview with E! News, Gabriel denied claims that the pageant was rigged, stating "I would never enter any pageant or any competition that I know I would win."

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss USA 2022 | Texas – R'Bonney Gabriel |
| 1st Runner-Up | North Carolina – Morgan Romano ∞ |
| 2nd Runner-Up | Nebraska – Natalie Pieper |
| 3rd Runner-Up | Ohio – Sir'Quora Carroll |
| 4th Runner-Up | Illinois – Angel Reyes |
| Top 12 | Connecticut – Cynthia Dias §  Kansas – Elyse Noe  Minnesota – Madeline Helget  New Hampshire – Camila Sacco  New Mexico – Suzanne Perez  Tennessee – Emily Suttle  Vermont – Kelsey Golonka |
| Top 16 | California – Tiffany Johnson  District of Columbia – Faith Porter  Missouri – Mikala McGhee  West Virginia – Krystian Leonard |
§ – Voted into the Top 16 by viewers . ∞ – Gabriel won Miss Universe 2022. Due to protocol, Gabriel relinquished her title and the 1st runner-up, Morgan Romano, assumed the Miss USA title.

### Special awards

| Award | Award | Contestant |
| Best State Costume | Winner | Texas – R'Bonney Gabriel |
| Best State Costume | Second Place | Tennessee – Emily Suttle |
| Best State Costume | Third Place | Maine – Elizabeth Kervin |
| Miss Congeniality | Miss Congeniality | Alaska – Courtney Schuman |
| Miss Photogenic | Miss Photogenic | Illinois – Angel Reyes |

## Pageant
### Judges

* Ashlee Clarke – American businesswoman and producer
* Soo Yeon Lee – South Korean table tennis player and model
* Kirk Myers – American fitness trainer
* Olivia Ponton – American model and social media influencer
* Aaron Potts – American fashion designer
* Nicole Williams-English – Canadian fashion designer and model

## Contestants

Fifty-one contestants competed for the title.
| State/district | Contestant | Age | Hometown | Notes |
| Alabama | Katelyn Vinson | 22 | Dothan | |
| Alaska | Courtney Schuman | 28 | Anchorage | Previously Miss Alaska 2018 |
| Arizona | Isabel Ticlo | 28 | Phoenix | Previously Miss Arizona 2018 |
| Arkansas | Rylie Wagner | 22 | Ozark | |
| California | Tiffany Johnson | 26 | Lancaster | |
| Colorado | Alexis Glover | 23 | Colorado Springs | Previously Miss Colorado Teen USA 2017 |
| Connecticut | Cynthia Dias | 23 | Wolcott | Previously Miss Connecticut's Outstanding Teen 2014 |
| Delaware | Grace Lange | 22 | Newark | Previously Miss Delaware Teen USA 2017 |
| District of Columbia | Faith Porter | 23 | Washington, D.C. | |
| Florida | Taylor Fulford | 28 | Okeechobee | |
| Georgia | Holly Haynes | 26 | Sugar Hill | |
| Hawaii | Kiana Yamat | 28 | Honolulu | |
| Idaho | Jordana Dahmen | 27 | Boise | |
| Illinois | Angel Reyes | 26 | Chicago | |
| Indiana | Samantha Toney | 27 | Clarksville | |
| Iowa | Randi Estabrook | 25 | Des Moines | |
| Kansas | Elyse Noe | 23 | Lawrence | |
| Kentucky | Lizzy Neutz | 23 | Louisville | |
| Louisiana | KT Scannell | 22 | Denham Springs | |
| Maine | Elizabeth Kervin | 20 | Winterport | |
| Maryland | Caleigh Shade | 23 | Ocean City | Previously Miss Maryland Teen USA 2018 |
| Massachusetts | Skarlet Ramirez | 28 | Lawrence | |
| Michigan | Aria Hutchinson | 24 | Plymouth | Daughter of Chris Hutchinson and Melissa Sinkevics Hutchinson, Miss Michigan Teen USA 1988, and sister of Aidan Hutchinson. |
| Minnesota | Madeline Helget | 24 | Clearwater | |
| Mississippi | Hailey White | 23 | Picayune | |
| Missouri | Mikala McGhee | 28 | St. Louis | |
| Montana | Heather Lee O'Keefe | 25 | Bozeman | |
| Nebraska | Natalie Pieper | 27 | Omaha | |
| Nevada | Summer Keffeler | 21 | Paradise | Previously Miss Washington Teen USA 2018 Sister of Stormy Keffeler, original titleholder of Miss Washington USA 2016 |
| New Hampshire | Camila Sacco | 27 | Portsmouth | |
| New Jersey | Alexandra Lakhman | 26 | Hoboken | |
| New Mexico | Suzanne Perez | 25 | Portales | |
| New York | Heather Nunez | 26 | Queens | |
| North Carolina | Morgan Romano | 24 | Concord | Later assumed Miss USA 2022 after Gabriel won Miss Universe 2022 |
| North Dakota | SaNoah LaRocque | 25 | Belcourt | |
| Ohio | Sir'Quora Carroll | 23 | Canal Winchester | |
| Oklahoma | Ashley Ehrhart | 25 | Oklahoma City | Previously National Sweetheart 2021 |
| Oregon | Arielle Freytag | 28 | Harrisburg | |
| Pennsylvania | Billie LaRaé Owens | 25 | Phoenixville | Daughter of Billy Owens |
| Rhode Island | Elaine Collado | 27 | Providence | Previously Miss Rhode Island Teen USA 2013 |
| South Carolina | Meera Bhonslé | 26 | Lexington | |
| South Dakota | Shania Knutson | 22 | Viborg | Previously Miss South Dakota Teen USA 2018 |
| Tennessee | Emily Suttle | 26 | Franklin | Previously Miss Tennessee Teen USA 2013 |
| Texas | R'Bonney Gabriel | 28 | Houston | Later crowned Miss Universe 2022, relinquished title |
| Utah | Elisabeth Bradley-Gandara | 28 | Salt Lake City | |
| Vermont | Kelsey Golonka | 23 | Montpelier | Previously Miss Vermont Teen USA 2017 Sister of Kenzie Golonka, Miss Vermont Teen USA 2022 |
| Virginia | Kailee Horvath | 23 | Ashburn | |
| Washington | Mazzy Eckel | 22 | Seattle | |
| West Virginia | Krystian Leonard | 25 | Morgantown | |
| Wisconsin | Hollis Brown | 26 | Milwaukee | |
| Wyoming | Morgan McNally | 27 | Casper | |