Miss USA 2012

Miss USA 2012, the 61st Miss USA pageant, was held on June 3, 2012, at The AXIS in Las Vegas, Nevada. Alyssa Campanella of California crowned her successor Olivia Culpo of Rhode Island at the end of the event. Culpo represented the United States at Miss Universe 2012 and became the eighth American to win the Miss Universe title.[1]

Miss USA 2012
Olivia Culpo, Miss USA 2012
Date	June 3, 2012
Presenters	Andy Cohen Giuliana Rancic Jeannie Mai Kelly Osbourne
Entertainment	Akon Cobra Starship
Venue	The AXIS, Las Vegas, Nevada
Broadcaster	NBC Telemundo
Entrants	51
Placements	16
Winner	Olivia Culpo[lower-alpha 1] Rhode Island[lower-alpha 1]
Congeniality	Rebecca Hodge Iowa
Photogenic	Alaina Bergsma Oregon

After Culpo's Miss Universe win, first runner-up Nana Meriwether of Maryland inherited the Miss USA title. Meriwether became the second woman from Maryland to hold the Miss USA title; the first, Mary Leona Gage, was dethroned shortly after winning.

The 50 states and the District of Columbia competed for the prestigious title. The pageant was televised live on NBC in the U.S.A. The full preliminary round, as well as highlights from the event, is available over Xbox Live via their YouTube and MSN applications.

For the first time, a question was solicited from Twitter for the final question asked of one of the five finalists. That question picked by the pageant organizers - "Would you feel it would be fair that a transgender woman wins the Miss USA title over a natural-born woman?" - was answered by the winner, Culpo.[2]

Results

Miss USA 2012 results

Final Results	Contestant
Miss USA 2012	Rhode Island – Olivia Culpo
1st Runner-Up	Maryland – Nana Meriwether ∞
2nd Runner-Up	Ohio – Audrey Bolte
3rd Runner-Up	Nevada – Jade Kelsall
4th Runner-Up	Georgia – Jazz Wilkins
Top 10	Alabama – Katherine Webb Colorado – Marybel Gonzalez New Jersey – Michelle Leonardo Oklahoma – Lauren Lundeen Texas – Brittany Booker
Top 16	Arkansas – Kelsey Dow ‡ Louisiana – Erin Edmiston Maine – Rani Williamson Michigan – Kristen Danyal South Carolina – Erika Powell Tennessee – Jessica Hibler

‡ Voted into Top 16 as America's Choice via Internet
∞ Culpo won Miss Universe 2012. Due to protocol, Culpo resigns her title as Miss USA 2012. 1st runner-up, Nana Meriwether, replaces her as Miss USA.

Special awards

Award	Contestant
Miss Congeniality	Iowa – Rebecca Hodge
Miss Photogenic	Oregon – Alaina Bergsma

Order of announcement

Top 16 Tennessee Alabama Ohio Michigan Maryland New Jersey Texas Colorado Oklahoma Louisiana Maine Georgia South Carolina Rhode Island Nevada Arkansas

Top 10 Alabama Oklahoma Ohio Georgia Texas Colorado New Jersey Maryland Rhode Island Nevada Top 5 Georgia Nevada Rhode Island Maryland Ohio

Delegates

State	Contestant	Hometown	Age[lower-alpha 2]	Height	Placement	Notes
Alabama	Katherine Webb	Phenix City	23	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)	Top 10	Contestant in Splash
Alaska	Jessica Kazmierczak	Salcha	22	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Arizona	Erika Frantzve	Scottsdale	23	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Arkansas	Kelsey Dow	Jonesboro	21	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)	Top 16[lower-alpha 3]
California	Natalie Pack	Palos Verdes	23	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)		Contestant on America's Next Top Model, Cycle 12
Colorado	Marybel Gonzalez	Denver	24	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)	Top 10
Connecticut	Marie Lynn Piscitelli	North Haven	26	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)		Previously Miss Connecticut Teen USA 2001
Delaware	Krista Clausen	Georgetown	19	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
District of Columbia	Monique Tompkins	Washington	23	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Florida	Karina Brez[3]	Wellington	23	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Georgia	Jasmyn "Jazz" Wilkins	Johns Creek	21	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)	4th runner-up
Hawaii	Brandie Cazimero	Kaneohe	26	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Idaho	Erna Palic	Boise	25	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Illinois	Ashley Hooks	Flossmoor	25	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Indiana	Megan Myrehn	Carmel	21	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)		Previously Miss Virginia Teen USA 2008
Iowa	Rebecca Hodge	Iowa City	22	5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
Kansas	Gentry Miller	Overland Park	24	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)		Previously Miss Kansas Teen USA 2006
Kentucky	Amanda Mertz	Louisville	25	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Louisiana	Erin Edmiston	Lafayette	22	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)	Top 16
Maine	Rani Williamson	Portland	25	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)	Top 16	Later resigned
Maryland	Nana Meriwether	Potomac	27	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)	1st runner-up	Later crowned Miss USA 2012 after Culpo won Miss Universe 2012
Massachusetts	Natalie Pietrzak	Boston	26	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Michigan	Kristen Danyal[4]	Detroit	21	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)	Top 16	Previously Miss Michigan Teen USA 2009
Minnesota	Nitaya Panemalaythong	Savage	26	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)		Born in Thailand
Mississippi	Myverick Garcia	Hattiesburg	22	5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
Missouri	Katie Kearney	St. Louis	23	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Montana	Autumn Muller[5]	Billings	25	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)		Previously Miss Montana Teen USA 2004
Nebraska	Amy Spilker	Malcolm	22	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Nevada	Jade Kelsall	Eneterprise	26	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)	3rd runner-up
New Hampshire	Ryanne Harms	Rochester	23	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
New Jersey	Michelle Leonardo	Tinton Falls	20	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)	Top 10	Previously Miss New Jersey Teen USA 2008
New Mexico	Jessica Martin	Las Cruces	21	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)		Previously Miss New Mexico Earth 2010
New York	Johanna Sambucini	Brooklyn	25	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
North Carolina	Sydney Perry	Wrightsville Beach	21	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)		Previously Miss Vermont Teen USA 2008
North Dakota	Jaci Stofferahn	Fargo	23	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Ohio	Audrey Bolte	Batavia	23	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)	2nd runner-up
Oklahoma	Lauren Lundeen	Edmond	20	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)	Top 10
Oregon	Alaina Bergsma	Eugene	22	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Pennsylvania	Sheena Monnin	Cranberry Township	27	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)		Later resigned
Rhode Island	Olivia Culpo[6][7]	Cranston	20	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)[8]	Miss USA 2012	Later Miss Universe 2012
South Carolina	Erika Powell	Greenville	27	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)	Top 16	Previously Miss South Carolina 2005
South Dakota	Taylor Neisen	Rapid City	20	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Tennessee	Jessica Hibler	Nashville	23	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)	Top 16
Texas	Brittany Booker	Houston	21	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)	Top 10
Utah	Kendyl Bell	Sandy	25	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Vermont	Jamie Dragon	Stowe	26	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Virginia	Catherine Muldoon	Virginia Beach	26	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)		Previously Miss New York Teen USA 2004
Washington	Christina Clarke	Sammamish	22	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
West Virginia	Andrea Rogers	Martinsburg	24	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Wisconsin	Emily Guerin[9]	Monroe	23	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Wyoming	Holly Allen[10]	Lander	24	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)		Later a contestant on Big Brother 21

Judges

Preliminary Judges

• Michael Agbabian
• Cindy Barshop
• Stefan C. Campbell
• Renee Simon
• Alison Taub
• Kim Wagner
• Randall Winston

Final Judges

• Sol Vargas
• Ali Fedotowsky
• Arsenio Hall
• Marilu Henner
• Joe Jonas
• Rob Kardashian
• George Kotsiopoulos
• Dayana Mendoza, Miss Universe 2008 from Venezuela

Background music

• Opening Fashion Show – "Turn Up the Radio" (Remix) by Madonna, and "LaserLight" by Jessie J featuring David Guetta (background music)
• Swimsuit Competition – "#1Nite (One Night)" and "You Make Me Feel..." by Cobra Starship (live performance)
• Evening Gown Competition – "Lights" (Original and instrumental versions) by Ellie Goulding (background music)
• Top 5 Final Look – "America's Most Wanted" by Akon (live performance)

Historical significance

• Rhode Island wins the competition for the first time, surpasses its previous highest placement in 2007 and becoming the 31st state who does it for the first time. Would go on to win Miss Universe 2012 in December of that year as USA.
• Maryland earns the 1st runner-up position for the second time. The last time it placed this was in 1968. Also became the second woman from Maryland to win the Miss USA title. Prior to this Mary Leona Gage, outright winner of Miss USA 1957, was disqualified after discovered she had been married and had two children. She finished as 1st runner-up, but succeeded as Miss USA 2012 after Olivia Culpo won Miss Universe.
• Ohio earns the 2nd runner-up position for the first time and reaches its highest placement since Halle Berry in 1986.
• Nevada earns the 3rd runner-up position for the first time and reaches its highest placement since 2007.
• Georgia earns the 4th runner-up position for the sixth time. The last time it placed this was in 1989.
• States that placed in the top 16 the previous year were Alabama, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
• Tennessee made its seventh straight placement.
• Alabama and Maine placed for the third consecutive year.
• Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina and Texas made their second consecutive placement.
• Ohio last placed in 2006.
• Louisiana and Nevada last placed in 2007.
• New Jersey and Rhode Island last placed in 2008.
• Arkansas, Colorado, Michigan and Oklahoma last placed in 2010. Arkansas Kelsey Dow made it past the first elimination due to new media technology (Internet/SMS vote).
• California breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 2005 after Natalie Pack failed to place in the semifinals.
• Missouri breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 2010.

Notes

1. When Olivia Culpo won Miss Universe 2012, 1st runner-up Nana Meriwether of Maryland inherited the Miss USA title for the remainder of the year.
2. Ages at the time of the pageant
3. Voted per America's Choice internet/SMS

References

1. "EXCLUSIVE: Miss USA 2012 is Olivia Culpo!". BeautyMania.Biz. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
2. Miss USA 2012: Miss Rhode Island Takes the Crown
3. "Wellington's Karina Brez crowned new Miss Florida USA". The Palm Beach Post. July 16, 2011. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011.
4. Kristen Danyal Crowned Miss Michigan USA 2012
5. Autumn Muller Crowned Miss Montana USA 2012
6. Olivia Culpo Crowned Miss Rhode Island USA 2012
7. Miss Rhode Island, Cranston's Olivia Culpo, wins Miss USA pageant
8. "Olivia Culpo". Trump Model Management. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
9. Emily Guerin Crowned Miss Wisconsin USA 2012
10. Holly Allen Crowned Miss Wyoming USA 2012

External links

• Miss USA official website