Miss USA 2008

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Miss USA 2008
Date: April 11, 2008
Presenters: Marie Osmond, Donny Osmond[1]
Entertainment: Finger Eleven
Venue: Planet Hollywood Performing Arts Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Broadcaster: NBC
Winner: Crystle Stewart
Represented: Flag of Texas Texas
Congeniality: Monica Day
Photogenic: Courtney Carroll

Miss USA 2008, the 57th Miss USA beauty pageant, was held in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 11, 2008.[2] At the conclusion of the final night of competition, Crystle Stewart, Miss Texas USA, was crowned the winner by outgoing titleholder, Rachel Smith of Tennessee. Crystle will represent the United States at the Miss Universe 2008 pageant which will be held in Vietnam. This is the first time in Miss USA history that two consecutive women of African-American decent have been crowned.

The pageant was held at the Theatre for the Performing Arts, a 7,000 seat theater located in the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. The theater was also the location of Miss Universe 1991, 1996 and the Miss America 2006-2008 pageants. This is the first time that the Miss USA pageant was held in Nevada.

For the first time, the competition was broadcast in High Definition.

Brother/sister duo Donny and Marie Osmond hosted the live telecast for the first time, and Finger Eleven performed their single Paralyzer.[1][3]. Rihanna's song Umbrella was used during the evening gown competition.

During the final show on April 11, the fifteen delegates with the highest average score from the preliminary competition were announced. The top fifteen competed in the swimsuit competition. The top ten delegate scores from swimsuit competed in evening gown. The top five delegate scores from the evening gown competition (not averaged composite scores from both competitions) competed in the final question round to determine the winner. The judges' composite score was shown after each round of competition for only the second time since 2002.


Contents

[edit] Selection of contestants

One delegate from each state and the District of Columbia were chosed in state pageants held from June 2007 to January 2008.

[edit] Results

[edit] Placements

Map showing placements by state
Map showing placements by state

[edit] Special Awards

[edit] Final Competition Scores

State Swimsuit Evening Gown
Texas 9.178 (3) 9.169 (2)
Mississippi 8.522 (9) 8.953 (5)
New Jersey 8.531 (8) 8.991 (4)
Oklahoma 9.474 (1) 9.318 (1)
Pennsylvania 9.183 (2) 9.089 (3)
Missouri 8.977 (4) 8.622 (6)
Indiana 8.478 (10) 8.578 (7)
Florida 8.567 (7) 8.500 (8)
Tennessee 8.687 (6) 8.460 (9)
Massachusetts 8.954 (5) 8.439 (10)
South Carolina 8.476 (11)
California 8.289 (12)
Utah 7.984 (13)
Rhode Island 7.972 (14)
Minnesota 7.938 (15)
     Winner
     First runner-up
     Second runner-up
     Third runner-up
     Fourth runner-up
     Top 10
     Top 15


(#)  Rank in each round of competition

[edit] Delegates

The Miss USA 2008 delegates are:

State Name Hometown Age1 Height Placement Awards Notes
Flag of Alabama Alabama Keisha Walding Dothan, AL 24 5'10"
Flag of Alaska Alaska Courtney Carroll[4] Fairbanks, AK 25 5'7" Miss Photogenic
Flag of Arizona Arizona Kimberly Joiner[5] Gilbert, AZ 22 5'8"
Flag of Arkansas Arkansas Rachel Howells[6] Alma, AR 21 5'10"
Flag of California California Raquel Beezley[7] Barstow, CA 21 5'8" Top 15
Flag of Colorado Colorado Beckie Hughes[8] Grand Junction, CO 21 5'9
Flag of Connecticut Connecticut Jacqueline Honulik[9] Fairfield, CT 21 5'8
Flag of Delaware Delaware Vincenza Carrieri-Russo[10] Newark, DE 23 5'7"
Flag of Washington, D.C. District of Columbia Chelsey Rodgers[11] Washington, DC 24 5'8
Flag of Florida Florida Jessica Rafalowski DeLand, FL 22 5'10" Top 10
Flag of Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia Amanda Kozak Warner Robins, GA 23 5'10" Previously Miss Georgia 2007; 2nd runner-up at Miss America 2007
Flag of Hawaii Hawaii Jonelle Layfield Kane'ohe, HI 23 5'10" Sister of Ashley Layfield, Miss Hawaii 2007
Flag of Idaho Idaho Tracey Brown Post Falls, ID 21 5'9" Previously Miss Idaho 2005
Flag of Illinois Illinois Shanon Lersch Chicago, IL 25 5'10"
Flag of Indiana Indiana Brittany Mason Anderson, IN 21 5'10" Top 10
Flag of Iowa Iowa Abbey Curran Davenport, IA 20 5'5"
Flag of Kansas Kansas Michelle Gillespie Mission Hills, KS 22 5'11"
Flag of Kentucky Kentucky Alysha Harris Lexington, KY 20 5'4"
Flag of Louisiana Louisiana Michelle Berthelot Hammond, LA 24 5'6"
Flag of Maine Maine Kaetlin Parent Van Buren, ME 20 5'8" Previously Miss Maine Teen USA 2005
Flag of Maryland Maryland Casandra Tressler Damascus, MD 22 5'9"
Flag of Massachusetts Massachusetts Jacqueline Bruno Assonet, MA 23 5'10" Top 10 Previously Miss Massachusetts Teen USA 2003; 3rd Runner-up at Miss Teen USA 2003
Flag of Michigan Michigan Elisabeth Crawford Canton, MI 25 5'8"
Flag of Minnesota Minnesota Kaylee Unverzagt Eagan, MN 20 5'10" Top 15
Flag of Mississippi Mississippi Leah Laviano Ellisville, MS 20 5'4" 1st Runner-Up
Flag of Missouri Missouri Candice Crawford Columbia, MO 21 5'8" Top 10
Flag of Montana Montana Tori Wanty[12] Shelby, MT 21 5'4"
Flag of Nebraska Nebraska Micaela Johnson Omaha, NE 23 5'5"
Flag of Nevada Nevada Veronica Grabowski Henderson, NV 23 5'6"
Flag of New Hampshire New Hampshire Breanne Silvi Nashua, NH 24 5'4"
Flag of New Jersey New Jersey Tiffany Andrade Linden, NJ 22 5'5" 2nd Runner-Up
Flag of New Mexico New Mexico Raelene Aguilar Sunland Park, NM 26 5'8" Previously Miss New Mexico Teen USA 2000
Flag of New York New York Danielle Roundtree New York, NY 20 5'11"
Flag of North Carolina North Carolina Andrea Duke Saluda, NC 26 5'11"
Flag of North Dakota North Dakota Stephanie Tollefson[13] New Rockford, ND 21 5'8"
Flag of Ohio Ohio Monica Day Grove City, OH 25 5'9" Miss Congeniality
Flag of Oklahoma Oklahoma Lindsey Jo Harrington Frederick, OK 22 5'10" 3rd Runner-Up
Flag of Oregon Oregon Mary Horch[14] Corvallis, OR 24 5'7"
Flag of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania LauRen Merola Pittsburgh, PA 23 5'8" 4th Runner-Up
Flag of Rhode Island Rhode Island Amy Diaz Johnston, RI 23 5'6" Top 15 Former Miss Rhode Island Teen USA 2001
Flag of South Carolina South Carolina Jamie Hill Columbia, SC 24 5'6" Top 15 Contestant on The Amazing Race 10
Flag of South Dakota South Dakota Charlie Buhler Mitchell, SD 20 5'5"
Flag of Tennessee Tennessee Hailey Brown Franklin, TN 25 5'9" Top 10
Flag of Texas Texas Crystle Stewart Missouri City, TX 26 5'9" Winner
Flag of Utah Utah Julia Bachison North Ogden, UT 24 5'7" Top 15 Previously Miss Utah 2005
Flag of Vermont Vermont Kim Tantlinger Burlington, VT 22 5'7"
Flag of Virginia Virginia Tori Hall Roanoke, VA 21 5'8" Previously Miss Virginia Teen USA 2005, top 10 at Miss Teen USA 2005; contestant on Road Rules: Viewer's Revenge and The Gauntlet 3
Flag of Washington Washington Michelle Font Renton, WA 26 5'7"
Flag of West Virginia West Virginia Skylene Montgomery Parkersburg, WV 23 5'7"
Flag of Wisconsin Wisconsin Michelyn Butler Madison, WI 25 5'8"
Flag of Wyoming Wyoming Cassie Shore Casper, WY 22 5'5"

1 Age as at April 2008

[edit] Contestant gallery

[edit] Crossovers

[edit] Contestant notes

Michelle Gillespie is crowned Miss Kansas USA 2008
Michelle Gillespie is crowned Miss Kansas USA 2008
  • Due to accounting errors, Christina Silva was crowned Miss California USA. When the mistake was discovered a week after the pageant, the real winner Raquel Beezley assumed the title.[7]
  • Michelle Gillespie, Miss Kansas USA, is the great-great niece of Miss America 1921, Margaret Gorman of Washington, DC.[15]
  • Three contestants previously competed in the Miss Texas USA and/or Miss Texas Teen USA pageants before winning titles in other states:
    • Candice Crawford (Missouri) placed third runner-up at Miss Texas Teen USA 2003 and 2005. She is the sister of Gossip Girl actor Chace Crawford.[16]
    • Elisabeth Crawford (Michigan) was a non-finalist at Miss Texas USA 2004 to 2006
    • Veronica Grabowski (Nevada) competed at the Miss Texas Teen USA 2003 and Miss Texas USA 2007 pageants, finishing as a semifinalist in both years.
  • Amy Diaz (Rhode Island) and Danielle Roundtree (New York) competed at Miss Florida USA 2007. Diaz placed third runner-up and Roundtree was a non-finalist.[17]
  • Abbey Curran (Iowa) will be the first contestant with a disability. Curran was born with cerebral palsy.

[edit] Judges

[edit] Preliminary Judges

  • David Dzanis - Sports Marketing Executive, Vice President of Pepsi-Cola Client Services at Genesco Sports Enterprises (GSE), responsibilities include marketing strategy and activation related to Pepsi's sponsorship for sports properties.
  • Lisa Howfield - General Manager for KVBC TV 3, the NBC affiliate in Las Vegas, NV
  • Alicia Jacobs - A former Miss NV USA, entertainment reporter for KVBC TV 3, the NBC affiliate in Las Vegas, NV
  • Sandy Mecca - former professional tennis player,competed on the Virginia Slims Professional Tennis tour
  • Charles J. Nabit, J.D. - businessman, specializing in long term care, psychiatric and chemical dependency services, home health care, retail and institutional pharmacy operations and specialty rehabilitation and therapy
  • Bob Webber - Creative Director for Nina Footwear Corp., responsible for the creative direction of the brand's advertising campaigns, as well as overseeing the creation of collections licensed under the Nina brand.
  • Mark J.Wylie - Vice President, Talent Relations for the non-profit organization, Best Buddies. Mark also recently starred on season three of NBC's "The Biggest Loser" where he was a finalist.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "America's beloved Brother & Sister duo, Donny and Marie Osmond, to host the 2008 Miss USA Pageant", Miss USA Press, 2008-03-14. 
  2. ^ "Miss USA coming to Las Vegas", News 3 Las Vegas, 2007-12-13. 
  3. ^ Miss Universe Organization (2008-03-31). "Heather Mills, Rob Schneider, Joey Fatone, Kristian Alfonso, Amanda Beard, Christian Siriano, Shawne Merriman, Ken Paves, Kelly Carlson, and George Wayne to Judge 2008 Miss USA Pageant On NBC April 11th/Finger Eleven Will Perform Their Hit Song "Paralyzer" During the Live Telecast from Las Vegas". Press release.
  4. ^ "UAF student wins Miss Alaska USA crown", Associated Press, 2007-12-17. 
  5. ^ Gersema, Emily. "Gilbert woman to vie for Miss USA crown", The Arizona Republic, 2007-12-10. Retrieved on 2008-03-07. 
  6. ^ Fry, Kenneth. "Alma Woman Prepares For Miss USA Pageant", Press Argus-Courier, 2008-02-23. 
  7. ^ a b "New Miss California winner named after accounting error", Associated Press, 2007-12-04. 
  8. ^ "Owner of Pinque wins Miss Colorado USA crown", The Daily Sentinel, 2007-10-30. 
  9. ^ "Daughter of officer sets sights on Miss USA", The Norwalk Advocate, 2008-01-24. Retrieved on 2008-03-07. 
  10. ^ Zewe, Adam. "Vincenza Carrieri-Russo crowned Miss Delaware USA", The Community News, 2007-12-10. Retrieved on 2008-03-07. 
  11. ^ Bryce, Peter. "Next Stop Miss USA: DC’s Pageant Representative on Fashion, Fitness, Guilty Pleasures, and Embarrassing Moments", Washingtonian, 2008-03-18. Retrieved on 2008-03-20. 
  12. ^ Milliard, Trevon. "UM student wins Miss Montana", Montana Kaimin, 2008-03-20. Retrieved on 2008-03-20. 
  13. ^ Johnson, Andrea. "Miss N.D. focuses on healthy lifestyles", Minot Daily News. Retrieved on 2008-03-20. 
  14. ^ Hogue, Theresa. "Miss Oregon gets ready for pageant", Albany Democrat-Herald, 2008-03-14. Retrieved on 2008-03-20. 
  15. ^ Bhargava, Jennifer. "Mission Hills woman captures Miss Kansas title", Kansas City Star, 2007-12-25. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.  (Google cache)
  16. ^ Raubolt, Jordan. "Crowning achievement: MU student sets sights on career", Columbia Daily Tribune, 2007-11-16. 
  17. ^ "Jenna Edwards of North Miami is next Miss Florida USA", Associated Press, 2006-07-15. 

[edit] External links