Miss USA 2009

Miss USA 2009, the 58th Miss USA pageant was held at the Theatre for the Performing Arts in Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 19, 2009. At the conclusion of the final night of competition, Kristen Dalton of North Carolina was crowned by outgoing titleholder Crystle Stewart of Texas.

Miss USA 2009
Miss USA 2009 Kristen Dalton
DateApril 19, 2009
Presenters
Entertainment
VenueThe AXIS, Las Vegas, Nevada
Broadcaster
Entrants51
Placements15
WinnerKristen Dalton
 North Carolina
CongenialityCynthia Pate
 Wyoming
PhotogenicJessi Pierson
 West Virginia

The event was hosted by Billy Bush of Access Hollywood and actress Nadine Velazquez; Bush returned to host the pageant which he last emceed in 2005. He had previously co-hosted Miss USA 2003 with Daisy Fuentes and Miss USA 2004–2005 with Nancy O'Dell. Entertainment was provided by Kevin Rudolf who performed "Let It Rock" during the swimsuit competition and The Veronicas performed "Untouched" during the evening gown competition.[1]

The competition was broadcast in High Definition for only the second time in history.

Delegates representing the fifty states plus the District of Columbia competed in the pageant, and arrived in Las Vegas on April 2.[2] Miss USA Kristen Dalton represented the USA at the Miss Universe 2009 pageant, where she reached the Top 10.

Pageants were held from June 2008 to January 2009 to select the representative for each state. During the final show on April 19, the fifteen delegates with the highest average scores from the preliminary competition were announced. The top fifteen competed in the swimsuit competition. The top ten delegates from swimsuit competed in evening gown. The top five delegates 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 third time since 2002.

Miss USA 2009 Titlecard

Results

Placements
Map showing placings by state.
Final Results Contestant
Miss USA 2009
1st Runner-Up
2nd Runner-Up
3rd Runner-Up
  • Utah – Laura Chukanov
4th Runner-Up
  • Kentucky – Maria Elizabeth Montgomery
Top 10
Top 15

Special awards
AwardContestant
Miss Congeniality
Miss Photogenic

Final scores

Delegates

The Miss USA 2009 delegates were:

State Contestant Hometown Age[lower-alpha 1] Height Placement Award Notes
Alabama Rachel Philippona[3] Dothan 20
Alaska Jessica Irene Nolin[4] Palmer 22
Arizona Alicia-Monique Blanco[5] Phoenix 22 5'8" 2nd runner-up
Arkansas Chanley Painter Conway 24 5'9" Top 10
California Carrie Prejean La Jolla 21 5'10" 1st runner-ip Later dethroned due to same-sex marriage controversy after the conclusion of the pageant
Colorado Patrice Williams Colorado Springs 22 5'7"
Connecticut Monica Mary Pietrzak Manchester 25 5'11" Top 15
Delaware Kate Banaszak Middletown 24
District of Columbia Nicole White Washington, D.C. 20 5'8" Previously Miss District of Columbia Teen USA 2004
Florida Anastagia Pierre Fort Lauderdale 20 5'9" Previously Miss Florida Teen USA 2004
Later Miss Bahamas Intercontinental 2010 and Miss Bahamas 2011
Georgia Kimberly Gittings Lilburn 20 Top 15
Hawaii Aureana Tseu Mililani Town 25 5'7" Previously Miss Hawaii Teen USA 1999
Idaho Melissa Weber Boise 27 Top 15
Illinois Ashley Bond Chicago 24
Indiana Courtni Hall Crawfordsville 20 5'9" Previously Miss Indiana Teen USA 2004
Iowa Chelsea Lynn Gauger Ankeny 20
Kansas Courtney Courter Olathe 23 5'9"
Kentucky Maria Elizabeth Montgomery Danville 19 5'10" 4th runner-up
Louisiana Lacey Minchew Baton Rouge 25 5'7" Previously Miss Teen America 2002, represented Georgia
Maine Ashley Underwood Benton 24 5'8" Later contestant in Survivor: Redemption Island
Maryland Gabrielle Carlson Marion Station 24
Massachusetts Alison Cronin Weymouth 21 Previously Miss Massachusetts Teen USA 2005
Michigan Lindsey Tycholiz Sterling Heights 26
Minnesota Erica Nego Plymouth 24 Top 15 Later Miss Universe Ghana 2011
Mississippi Jessica Lauren McRaney Terry 23 Previously Miss Mississippi Teen USA 2004
Missouri Stacey Smith Florissant 23 5'9"
Montana Misti Vogt Kalispell 23 5'11"
Nebraska Meagan Winings Atkinson 23 Previously Miss Nebraska Teen USA 2004
Nevada Georgina Vaughan[6] Las Vegas 21 5'10" Previously Miss Nevada Teen USA 2006
New Hampshire Christy Dunn Laconia 26
New Jersey Kaity Rodriguez Clifton 24
New Mexico Bianca Matamoros-Koonce Albuquerque 23
New York Tracey Chang New York City 26 5'7"
North Carolina Kristen Dalton Wilmington 22 5'7" Miss USA 2009 Daughter of Jeannie Boger, Miss North Carolina USA 1982
Sister of Julia Dalton, Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2008 and Miss North Carolina USA 2015
North Dakota Kelsey Erickson Grand Forks 22
Ohio Natasha Vivoda Champion 21
Oklahoma Lauren Lunday Altus 25
Oregon Sylvie Tarpinian Eugene 24
Pennsylvania Lindsey Nelsen Dallastown 21 5'7"
Rhode Island Alysha Castonguay Woonsocket 22 5'6" Previously Miss Rhode Island Teen USA 2002
Previously Miss Teen America 2003
Previously Miss Teen Galaxy 2005
South Carolina Stephanie Murray Smith Goose Creek 21 5'7" Top 10 Later contestant in The Amazing Race 17[7]
South Dakota Jessica Rowell Sioux Falls 22 5'7"
Tennessee Kristen Motil Franklin 24 5'9" Top 10
Texas Brooke Daniels Tomball 22 5'9" Top 10
Utah Laura Chukanov Salt Lake City 22 5'9" 3rd runner-up
Vermont Brooke Werner Granville 22
Virginia Maegan Phillips Quantico 22 Top 15
Washington Tara Turnure Seattle 23 Sister of Tracy Turnure, Miss Washington USA 2010
West Virginia Jessi Pierson Milton 21 5'7" Top 10 Miss Photogenic
Wisconsin Alexandra Wehrley Pewaukee 21 5'8" Later worked as a television host
Wyoming Cynthia Pate Casper 22 Miss Congeniality

Historical significance

Judges

Preliminary judges
  • Cara Petry
  • Chip Lightman
  • Lori Levine
  • Nick Light
  • Randall Winston
  • Rich Thurber
  • Seth Mayeri

Telecast judges

Background music

Controversy
Main article: Miss USA 2009 same-sex marriage controversy

During the 2009 Miss USA pageant, Miss California Carrie Prejean, was asked by openly gay pageant judge, Perez Hilton, whether she believed every state should legalize same-sex marriage. She responded that she did not. After the pageant Hilton made negative comments about the contestant and told ABC News: "She lost it because of that question. She was definitely the front-runner before that,"[8] leading some to believe that the answer directly had caused her to lose the competition.[9] Prejean stated that Miss California USA officials had pressured her to apologize for her statement and "not talk" about her Christian faith.[10]

Several politicians and commentators assailed Hilton and defended Prejean for honestly stating her personal beliefs.[11][12][13]

Following the pageant, Prejean hired a Christian public relations firm,[11] and appeared in a television advertisement by the National Organization for Marriage.[14] However, on June 10, 2009, Prejean again stated that her question caused her to lose her title when she learned she was fired by Donald Trump. Miss California USA officials state that her answer had nothing to do with her termination, citing continued breach of her contract instead.

New crown

In keeping with co-owner NBC Universal's "Green is Universal" environmental initiative, the Miss Universe Organization announced that Diamond Nexus Labs would become the official jewelry sponsor for the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants. DNL 's man-made gemstones are "all synthesized in clean labs using environmentally friendly processes". Diamond Nexus Labs will create a custom-designed crown for Miss USA 2009, as well as for the Miss Universe and Miss Teen USA pageants later this year.[15]

Notes
  1. Ages at the time of the pageant
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References
  1. "'ACCESS HOLLYWOOD' CO-HOST BILLY BUSH AND 'MY NAME IS EARL' STAR NADINE VELAZQUEZ TO HOST THE 2009 MISS USA PAGEANT LIVE FROM LAS VEGAS ON APRIL 19TH" (Press release). Miss Universe Organization. 2009-03-27.
  2. Associated Press (2009-03-09). "Miss USA pageant plans more than 2 weeks in Vegas". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  3. Ussery, Peggy (2009-02-09). "Miss Alabama USA learned confidence in pageants". Dothan Eagle. Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  4. "Community". Alaska Daily News. Archived from the original on 2012-06-29.
  5. Sparks, Colleen (2008-12-09). "Desert Vista produces 2 Miss Arizona winners". The Republic. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  6. Leach, Robin (2009-03-04). "Photo Gallery: Miss Nevada USA is ready to play host and compete". Las Vegas Weekly. Archived from the original on 2016-01-24. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  7. Derschowitz, Jessica (2010-09-02). ""The Amazing Race" Cast Announced". CBS News. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  8. "Gay marriage row at Miss USA show". BBC News. 2009-04-20. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  9. "Carrie Prejean Says Answer to Gay Marriage Question Cost Her Miss USA Crown". Fox News. 2009-04-20. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  10. "Carrie Prejean says she was asked to apologize for gay marriage comments, but refused". Daily News. New York. 2009-04-27.
  11. U.S. News & World Report - "Miss California, Carrie Prejean, Signs With Top Christian Publicity Firm" Archived 2009-05-02 at the Wayback Machine
  12. Newsom Defends Miss California. NBC News. Published April 23, 2009.
  13. "Political Grapevine" segment of Special Report with Brit Hume, Fox News, August 15, 2006 (Miss California Continues to Grab Headlines)
  14. National Organization for Marriage
  15. Goetzl, David (2009-03-06). "Miss Universe Sparkles With Diamond Sponsor". Media News Daily. Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
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