Miss WV USA & Teen USA 2016 Contestant Commentary

Miss West Virginia USA & Teen USA 2016 is being held this weekend in Flatwoods, with the final show on Sunday at 1.30pm.  Contestant photos can be found here (Miss) & here (Teen).  Miss ontestant numbers are incredibly disappointing this year, with only ten competing.  This is a far cry from the 20-30 average they've had in recent years and the high of 40 they had in 2007.   There are a few states where 10 might be the norm but WV certainly isn't one of them and I hope they can turn things around next year.  At the very least the Teen numbers have held up, with two more than last year - but the recent average of around 30 is again a far cry from the 88 who competed in 2007!  I've been hearing that the Trump/NBC situation around Miss USA this year has hit the directors hard so fingers crossed the first national pageants under the new owners will improve the situation for the 2017 state pageant season.

The ten Miss contestants include last year's first runner-up Nichole Greene and second runner-up Marlisa Lake who both represent festival titles which have commonly been very successful in Miss WV USA - Nichole is Miss WV Three Rivers Festival and Marlisa is Miss WV Strawberry Festival.  There are also two former Teen runners-up back- Lauren Roush, 2RU in 2013 and Tori Rohr, 3RU in 2011.  The fifth returnee is 2015 semi-finalist Carly Stover.

In Teen, three of the four runners-up are back including 2015 third runner-up and former Miss Iowa's Outstanding Teen 2011 Isabelle Raese.  It's amazing to think that Isabelle is still only 17, but she was only 13 when she won Miss IA's Outstanding Teen and competed at Miss America's Outstanding Teen!  The other returning runners-up are 2RU Sarah Miranda and 4RU Katie Riedel.  2014 4RU Macey Burns is also competing.

2016 contestants marked with asterisks:

2015 Miss Top Five |Back: Dominique Collins (3RU), Francesca Yazbek (4RU) | Front: Nichole Greene* (1RU), Andrea Mucino (Miss WV USA), Marlisa Lake* (2RU)

2013 Teen Top Five | Back: Zoey Oberst (3RU), Haley Gray-Hinchman (4RU) | Front: Lexsey Marrara (1RU), Haley Holloway (Miss WV Teen USA), Lauren Roush (2RU)*

2011 Teen Top Five | Back: Montana Barker (3RU), Tori Rohr* (4RU) | Front: Adrianna Lindsay (1RU), Susan King (Miss WV Teen USA), Danielle Eddy (2RU)

2015 Top Teen Five | Back: Isabelle Raese* (3RU), Katie Riedel* (4RU) | Front: Maggie Bonar (1RU), Cora King (Miss WV Teen USA), Sarah Miranda* (2RU)

2014 Teen Top Five | Back: Macey Burns* (4RU), Dominique Collins (3RU) | Front: Allison Dawley (2RU), Lexsey Marrara (Miss WV Teen USA), Ciera Fields (1RU)

Click "read more" or scroll below for the full list of contestants.

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Contestants

MISS WEST VIRGINIA USA  (10)
Allie Cole
Laura Der
Catherine Ellzey
Leslie Garrett
Nichole Greene (1RU 15)
Marlisa Lake (2RU 15)
Tori Rohr (SF 14, 3RU WV TUSA 11)
Lauren Roush (SF WV TUSA 14, 2RU 13)
Karah Sheppard
Carly Stover (SF 15)

MISS WEST VIRGINIA TEEN USA (30)
Amber Biel
Taylor Bumgardner
Macey Burns (4RU 14)
Carly Farmer
Caroline Fodor
Alejandra Hancock
Kelsey Hill
Kaylea Hoffman
Emily Keefer
Marianna Kibak
Ashley Kiser
Daisy Lively
Katlynn McKinney
Sarah Miranda (2RU 15)
Heather Naples (NF 13)
Madelyn Price
Isabel Raese (3RU 15, SF 14, Miss WV's OT 11)
Kristen Rager
Katie Riedel (4RU 15)
Kathryn Scarbro (NF 14)
Presley Slater
Haley Smalley
Morgan Sith
Zoe Spencer
Courtney Trader (NF 15)
Cassy Trickett (SF 15)
Kaylee VanDevander
Alexis Webb (NF 15, NF 14)
Emily Wigal (NF 15)
Serena Wiseman​

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