Congratulations to Miss Virginia USA 2019 Courtney Smits and Miss Virginia Teen USA 2019 Morgan Duty!  Click their names to view their titleholder profiles which have more photos.

Courtney was Miss Georgia Teen USA 2012 and a semi-finalist at Miss Teen USA 2012.  She will be the seventh Georgia Teen titleholder to compete at Miss USA and the second to represent a different state.  She is the ninth former Teen to win Virginia since 2000 and again, the second who represented a different state for Teen - the other was Catherine Muldoon in 2012 who was Miss NY Teen USA 2004 but had also competed in Georgia for Teen.  

Morgan was second runner-up at Miss VA Teen USA last year and first runner-up in 2017.   According to the records I currently have, she is the first titleholder from Lebanon in the southwest of the state.

First runner-up in the Miss pageant was Nadgeena Jerome who was competing for the first time.  Second runner-up went to another former Teen, Miss Virginia Teen USA 2011 Susie Evans who was competing in her first Miss pageant.  Susie had planned to compete a few years ago and then received the amazing opportunity to be a performer at Tokyo Disney!  Third runner-up was Jade Kenny, who was Miss Maryland 2014 (& a semi-finalist in DC USA last year), and 2016 Teen 2RU Mary McGeorge placed fourth runner-up.

The semi-finalists included two-time Teen runner-up Davina Seoparsan, past semi-finalists Ashley Day, Alexis Drury, Johanna King (in DC), Victoria Maiden and Elizabeth Martin and 2018 non-finalist Brianna Ruff.  The newcomers in the top 15 were Jasmyn Franklin, Amber Miller and Anah Taylor.  Elizabeth took advantage of the new rule that allows a contestant to compete in multiple states in the same state pageant season, as she had competed in Texas a few months ago... and Johanna is competing again in DC in a few weeks.

Miss Congeniality was Kati Roberts and Jade Kenny won Miss Photogenic.

I believe this is the first time since at least 2000 that Virginia has had two former Teens and a former Miss America contestant in their top five (or any combination of three former titleholders), although in 2006 there were two former Teens competing and Caressa Cameron later went on to win not just Miss Virginia but Miss America as well!  If you check out the link to the state pageant results page below though, you'll see a number of recent Virginia top fives featured contestants who later went on to win USA titles in VA in other states - e.g. four of the 2015 top five of Laura Puleo (Miss VA USA 15), Desiree Williams (Miss VA USA 16), Jamie Hughes (Miss CT USA 18), Brittinay Nicolette (Miss MD USA 18) and Kristie Barlow all competed at Miss USA

2018 third runner-up Cameron Clark finished first runner-up this year, second and third runner-up spots went to newcomers Zoe Lowe and Alyssa Mawyer.  Fourth runner-up was Gabriella Pena who is the second Teen to use the rule change I mentioned previously and compete in a second state.  She made the top 15 in North Carolina in October (after placing 3RU in NC in 2018).  

The only returning contestants in the top 12 were Savannah Marcum (SF in Virginia last year) and Grace Anne Jeremiah (SF in California - the second 2018 Cali Teen semi-finalist to compete in a different state this year).  The other semi-finalists were MollyPaige Deans, Jahnai Elder, Blair Oakley, Elana Scarlett and Sydney Spencer.

Madison Ramsey won Miss Congeniality and Cameron Clark was Miss Photogenic.

Miss Virginia USA 2019: Courtney Smits (GA TUSA 12)
1RU: Nadgeena Jerome
2RU: Susie Evans (VA TUSA 11)
3RU: Jade Kenny (SF DC USA 18, Miss MD 14)
4RU: Mary McGeorge (2RU VA TUSA 16)

Semi-finalists:
Ashley Day  (SF 18, NF 17, NF 16, NF FL USA 13, NF 12)
Alexis Drury (SF 17)
Jasmyn Franklin
Johanna King (SF DC USA 15, SF 14)
Victoria Maiden (SF 17)
Elizabeth Martin (NF TX USA 19, SF VA USA 18, NF 17)
Amber Miller
Brianna Ruff (NF 18)
​Davina Seoparsan (1RU VA TUSA 15, 2RU 14)
Anah Taylor

Congeniality: Kati Roberts
Photogenic: Jade Kenny

Miss Virginia Teen USA 2019: Morgan Duty (2RU 18, 1RU 17, NF 16)
1RU: Cameron Clark (3RU 18)
2RU: Zoe Lowe
3RU: Alyssa Mawyer
4RU: Gabriela Pena (T15 NC TUSA 19, 3RU NC TUSA 18, NF NC TUSA 17, NF NC TUSA 16)

Semi-finalists:
MollyPaige Deans
Jahnai Elder
Grace Anne Jeremiah (SF CA TUSA 18)
Savannah Marcum (SF 18)
Blair Oakley
Elana Scarlett
Sydney Spencer

Congeniality: Madison Ramsey
Photogenic: Cameron Clark

Congratulations to Miss Minnesota USA 2019 Catherine Stanley and Miss Minnesota Teen USA 2019 Olivia Herbert!  Click their names to view their titleholder profiles which have more photos.

Catherine was Miss Minnesota Teen USA 2014 - click the link for her Teen profile - and won both titles on her first attempt.  She is the second 2014 Teen heading to Miss USA this year.  She is the first Miss titleholder from Bloomington since 1988.  As happens quite frequently, Catherine's "Miss" titleholder Haley O'Brien was herself a former Teen (MN Teen USA 2010) who went on to win the Miss title.

Olivia was a semi-finalist in last year's Teen pageant, the first time a returning semi-finalist (not runner-up) has returned & won the following year since 2006!  She is a cousin of Miss Minnesota USA 2011 Britt Thelemann Pangerl.  She is the first titleholder from Andover, north of Minneapolis.

I didn't get a chance to do any contestant commentary for this weekends' pageants but all four of last year's runners-up competed again this year which has been a fairly rare occurrence this state pageant season.  2018 fourth runner-up Zianya Steigauf placed first runner-up this year.  Two-time Teen semi-finalist Taylor Fondie finished second runner-up. Third runner-up KerryAnne Kelly was the only newcomer in the top five and also won Miss Photogenic.  Fourth runner-up was Melissa Paakh, last year's 1st runner-up (she & Zianya swapped spots!).

Among the semi-finalists were the other two 2018 runners-up Danielle Hron (2RU) and Catalina Nguyen (3RU), 2018 semi-finalist and 2017 Teen runner-up Kala Schmidt, other past Miss & Teen semi-finalists Maddy Karlen and Elle Gilbert and first-time contestants Allie Brunette, Lauryn Greenfield, Jenna Housley, Courtney Igbo and Samantha Smith.

Miss Congeniality was Mikayla Holmgren.
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