# Miss USA 2016

Miss USA 2016 was the 65th Miss USA pageant, held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 5, 2016. Terrence J and Julianne Hough all hosted for the first time, while Ashley Graham served as the backstage host. All fifty states and the District of Columbia competed. Olivia Jordan of Oklahoma crowned her successor, Deshauna Barber of the District of Columbia, at the end of the event. Barber became the first African American to win the Miss USA title since Crystle Stewart in 2008, and this was District of Columbia's third title and the first title since 2002. Barber represented the United States at the Miss Universe 2016 pageant.
This was the first edition of the Miss USA pageant to be held under the ownership of WME/IMG, which purchased the Miss Universe Organization from Donald Trump on September 14, 2015, three days after NBCUniversal sold him its 50% interest in the organization in exchange for Trump's dropping a breach of contract lawsuit he filed against the media company in August for terminating NBC's contract to televise the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants. It was also the first Miss USA pageant to be broadcast on Fox after signed an agreement in October 2015.
For the first time, a 52nd entrant for the pageant was decided via a nationwide search through social media voting.

## Background
### Location

On April 5, the Miss Universe Organization announced that the competition would be hosted at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and a seventh time hosting the state in nine years.

### Hosts and performers

On May 25, it was announced that the competition would be hosted by Terrence J, while Ashley Graham would serve as backstage host. A week later, Julianne Hough was announced as the second host would work alongside Terrence J. Hough is a dancer and judge on Dancing with the Stars.
Also on May 25, Backstreet Boys and Nashville Star alum Chris Young were announced as the musical guests.

### Selection of participants

Delegates from 50 states and the District of Columbia were chosen in state pageants held from July 2015 to January 2016. The first state pageant was Florida, held on July 11, 2015 (the day before the Miss USA 2015 final competition), and the final pageant was Kentucky, held on January 31, 2016; fifteen of these delegates were former Miss Teen USA state winners (made the highest number ever surpassed the previous number of 12 former teens in Miss USA 2014), two of them were former Miss America state winners and three of them were former Miss America's Outstanding Teen state winners.
Two state titleholders were appointed as replacements after the original titleholders were unable to compete. Stormy Keffeler, the original Miss Washington USA 2016, resigned in January 2016 after pleaded guilty from disclosure of DUI in April 2015. She was replaced by Kelsey Schmidt, who was the first runner-up of the Miss Washington USA 2016 pageant, and Allie Dunn, the original Miss North Carolina USA 2016, resigned two weeks before the start of the Miss USA 2016 competition when she was falling ill and missed the start of pageant activities prevented from entering registration form. She was replaced by Devin Gant, who was the first runner-up of Miss North Carolina USA 2016 pageant and made a last minute trip to Las Vegas as the pageant activities were already started.

## Results

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss USA 2016 | District of Columbia – Deshauna Barber |
| 1st Runner-Up | Hawaii – Chelsea Hardin |
| 2nd Runner-Up | Georgia – Emanii Davis |
| Top 5 | Alabama – Peyton Brown California – Nadia Mejia § |
| Top 10 | Arkansas – Abby Floyd Connecticut – Tiffany Teixeira Missouri – Sydnee Stottlemyre South Dakota – Madison McKeown Virginia – Desi Williams |
| Top 15 | Arizona – Chelsea Myers Ohio – Megan Wise Oklahoma – Taylor Gorton South Carolina – Leah Lawson West Virginia – Nichole Greene |
§ Voted into the Top 15 by the public as the "People's Choice".

### Awards

| Award | Contestant |
| Miss Congeniality | Alabama – Peyton Brown |
| Miss Photogenic | Wisconsin – Kate Redeker |

## Miss 52 USA

In May 2016, a 52nd contestant took part in the competition via social media voting. The Miss Universe Organization along with the fashion agency Sherri Hill decided to make a competition online where different women from all the US competed. Finally, 10 women were selected by a panel of judges, and these 10 finalists were revealed on May 10, 2016. The winner between these 10 candidates competed as Miss 52 USA in the Miss USA 2016 pageant on June 5, 2016. The winner was announced on May 18, 2016, and Alexandra Miller from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma was named as Miss 52 USA.
The 10 selected finalists were:
| N° | Name | Age | Hometown | State |
| 1 | Catherine Williams | 24 | San Antonio | Texas |
| 2 | Yvonne Vega | 25 | New Braunfels | Texas |
| 3 | Jessica Bean | 24 | Casper | Wyoming |
| 4 | Alexandra Miller | 26 | Oklahoma City | Oklahoma |
| 5 | Ivana Thomas | 22 | Durham | North Carolina |
| 6 | Amanda Bell | 24 | Nashville | Tennessee |
| 7 | Kaitlyn Smith | 26 | Jacksonville Beach | Florida |
| 8 | Molly Vierhile | 23 | San Francisco | California |
| 9 | Niki Kafashzadeh | 24 | Rockville | Maryland |
| 10 | Bridgette Garb | 21 | Oak Park | California |
The panel of judges that selected the 10 finalists were:
   * Alessandra Garcia, American plus-size model.
   * Ashley Wagner, American figure skater.
   * Andrew Serrano, American IMG Fashion Director of Global Public Relations.
   * Lauren Giraldo, American social media star.
   * Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, Miss Universe 2015 from the Philippines.
   * Sherri Hill, American fashion designer and businesswoman.

## Pageant
### Preliminary round

Prior to the final competition, the delegates competed in the preliminary competition, which involves private interviews with the judges and a presentation show where they compete in swim wear and evening gown. It was held on June 1, 2016, and was broadcast on the Miss Universe website and mobile app and was hosted by Nick Teplitz and Olivia Jordan.

#### Judges

* Fred Nelson – President/Executive Producer of the People's Choice Awards
* Jimmy Nguyen – Entertainment and digital media lawyer, diversity advocate, blogger, and technology advisor
* Joey Boukadakis – Writer, director, producer, and media executive
* Keltie Knight – Correspondent and weekend host of CBS's The Insider
* Kristin Conte – Marketing and communications executive and event creator
* Nick Phelps – Global Alliance Director at Droga5
* Rebecca Bienstock – West Coast Bureau Chief at Us Weekly magazine

### Finals

During the final competition, the top fifteen competed in swim wear, while the top ten also competed in evening gown. The top five also competed in a submitted question round. Unlike in previous years, the third runner-up and the fourth runner-up were not awarded as the format was revived in Miss Universe 2015, and instead the judges would determine those three finalists to advance in the top three. The top three also competed in the same question round and a final runway, and the winner was decided by a panel of judges alongside the two runners-up.

#### Judges

* Ali Landry – Miss USA 1996 from Louisiana
* Crystle Stewart – Miss USA 2008 from Texas
* Joe Zee – Editor in Chief and Executive Creative Officer of Yahoo Fashion
* Laura Brown – Features/Special Projects and executive director of Harper's Bazaar magazine
* Nigel Barker – Fashion photographer and the host of UK and US versions of The Face

## Contestants

52 delegates competed for Miss USA 2016:
| State | Contestant | Age | Height | Hometown | Placement | Notes |
| Alabama | Peyton Brown | 22 | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | Eufaula | Top 5, Congeniality | Previously Miss Alabama Teen USA 2012 |
| Alaska | Ariane Audett | 21 | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | Anchorage | | |
| Arizona | Chelsea Myers | 20 | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | Tempe | Top 15 | |
| Arkansas | Abby Floyd | 20 | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | Searcy | Top 10 | Previously Miss Arkansas Teen USA 2013 |
| California | Nadia Mejia | 20 | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | Diamond Bar | Top 5 | Daughter of Gerardo Mejia and Miss West Virginia USA 1989 Kathy Eicher |
| Colorado | Caley-Rae Pavillard | 22 | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | Castle Pines | | Previously Miss Colorado's Outstanding Teen 2008 Previously Miss Colorado Teen USA 2011 |
| Connecticut | Tiffany Teixeira | 25 | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) | Bridgeport | Top 10 | Previously Miss Connecticut Teen USA 2009 |
| Delaware | Alexandra Vorontsova | 21 | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) | Newark | | |
| District of Columbia | Deshauna Barber | 26 | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | Washington, D.C. | Miss USA 2016 | |
| Florida | Brie Gabrielle | 25 | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | West Palm Beach | | |
| Georgia | Emanii Davis | 22 | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | Griffin | 2nd runner-up | Later placed 3rd runner-up at Miss World America 2017 Later Miss Earth USA 2019 and 1st Runner-up (Miss Earth - Air) at Miss Earth 2019 |
| Hawaii | Chelsea Hardin | 24 | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | Honolulu | 1st runner-up | |
| Idaho | Sydney Halper | 21 | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | Moscow | | |
| Illinois | Zena Malak | 24 | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | Carol Stream | | |
| Indiana | Morgan Abel | 26 | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) | North Vernon | | Previously Miss Indiana Teen USA 2008 |
| Iowa | Alissa Morrison | 24 | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | Davenport | | |
| Kansas | Victoria Wiggins | 26 | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | Junction City | | |
| Kentucky | Kyle Hornback | 20 | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | Louisville | | |
| Louisiana | Maaliyah Papillion | 21 | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | Lake Charles | | |
| Maine | Marisa Butler | 22 | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | Standish | | Later Miss World America 2018 Later Miss Earth United States 2021 Later Miss Earth Air 2021 |
| Maryland | Christina Denny | 25 | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | Baltimore | | Previously Miss Maryland 2013 |
| Massachusetts | Whitney Sharpe | 21 | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) | Burlington | | |
| Michigan | Susie Leica | 26 | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | Livonia | | |
| Minnesota | Bridget Jacobs | 20 | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | Maple Grove | | |
| Mississippi | Haley Sowers | 22 | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) | Meridian | | Previously Miss Mississippi Teen USA 2010 Former Tennessee Titans Cheerleader |
| Missouri | Sydnee Stottlemyre | 22 | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | Chesterfield | Top 10 | Previously Miss Missouri's Outstanding Teen 2008 Previously Miss Missouri Teen USA 2011 |
| Montana | Sibahn Doxey | 23 | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | Frenchtown | | Previously Miss Montana Teen USA 2011 |
| Nebraska | Sarah Hollins | 25 | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | Omaha | | Previously Miss Nebraska Teen USA 2009 |
| Nevada | Emelina Adams | 24 | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | Anthem | | |
| New Hampshire | Jessica Strohm | 25 | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | Manchester | | Professional cheerleader for New England Patriots |
| New Jersey | Jessielyn Palumbo | 24 | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | Wayne | | |
| New Mexico | Naomie Germain | 22 | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | Albuquerque | | |
| New York | Serena Bucaj | 22 | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | Suffern | | |
| North Carolina | Devin Gant | 23 | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | Charlotte | | Originally first runner-up, but assumed the title after winner Allie Dunn resigned before the start of pageant activities due to illness. |
| North Dakota | Halley Maas | 22 | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | Grand Forks | | |
| Ohio | Megan Wise | 26 | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | Gallipolis | Top 15 | |
| Oklahoma | Taylor Gorton | 24 | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) | Glenpool | Top 15 | Previously Miss Oklahoma Teen USA 2008 |
| Oregon | Natriana Shorter | 25 | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | Eugene | | |
| Pennsylvania | Elena LaQuatra | 24 | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | Pittsburgh | | Previously Miss Pennsylvania's Outstanding Teen 2007 Previously Miss Pennsylvania Teen USA 2010 |
| Rhode Island | Theresa Agonia | 24 | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) | Cumberland | | |
| South Carolina | Leah Lawson | 22 | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | Anderson | Top 15 | Auditioned on season 14 of American Idol but eliminated in Hollywood Week |
| South Dakota | Madison McKeown | 21 | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | Sioux Falls | Top 10 | Previously Miss South Dakota Teen USA 2014 |
| Tennessee | Hope Stephens | 20 | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | Livingston | | |
| Texas | Daniella Rodriguez | 19 | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | Laredo | | Previously Miss Texas Teen USA 2013 |
| Utah | Teale Murdock | 26 | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) | Salt Lake City | | |
| Vermont | Neely Fortune | 24 | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) | Burlington | | |
| Virginia | Desi Williams | 26 | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | Newport News | Top 10 | Previously Miss Virginia 2013 Later contestant on Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers |
| Washington | Kelsey Schmidt | 26 | 5 ft 3 in (160 cm) | Bellevue | | Originally first runner-up, but assumed the title after winner Stormy Keffeler resigned due to failing a DUI disclosure. |
| West Virginia | Nichole Greene | 24 | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) | Charleston | Top 15 | |
| Wisconsin | Kate Redeker | 19 | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | Sheboygan | Photogenic | Previously Miss Wisconsin Teen USA 2013 |
| Wyoming | Autumn Olson | 22 | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | Saratoga | | Previously Miss Wyoming Teen USA 2013 |
| Miss 52 USA | Alexandra Miller | 26 | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | Oklahoma City, OK | | Previously Miss Oklahoma USA 2015 after Olivia Jordan was crowned Miss USA 2015 |