Update: Congratulations to Miss Tennessee USA 2019 Savana Hodge and Miss Tennessee Teen USA 2019 Bailey Guy!
Apologies for the lateness of this, I've had a busy week! The Tennessee finals are being held at 4pm Saturday and will be webcast here.
For the first time in many years, I believe since at least the 1990s, both the Miss & Teen pageants are being held in a combined event. Sadly Tennessee has been hit hard - maybe the hardest - by the current downturn in contestant numbers and there will be only 18 Miss contestants and 28 Teen competing this year, a total of 46 which is barely half what they have attracted in recent years. In 2007 there was a total of 173 contestants!
This is especially sad considering Tennessee sent one of their strongest duos of recent years to the Miss USA & Teen USA pageants earlier this year and were rewarded with two top 10 placements - I had both Alexandra & Sofie in my top five.
Apologies for the lateness of this, I've had a busy week! The Tennessee finals are being held at 4pm Saturday and will be webcast here.
For the first time in many years, I believe since at least the 1990s, both the Miss & Teen pageants are being held in a combined event. Sadly Tennessee has been hit hard - maybe the hardest - by the current downturn in contestant numbers and there will be only 18 Miss contestants and 28 Teen competing this year, a total of 46 which is barely half what they have attracted in recent years. In 2007 there was a total of 173 contestants!
This is especially sad considering Tennessee sent one of their strongest duos of recent years to the Miss USA & Teen USA pageants earlier this year and were rewarded with two top 10 placements - I had both Alexandra & Sofie in my top five.
In the Miss division we have the fourth 2017 Teen returning - Miss TN Teen USA 2017 Megan Ski Hollingsworth - and we now only need two more from that class to return to break the record of most Teens competing in their first year of eligibility over the last decade or so. She will be the first Tennessee Teen to compete in Miss since Kristen Rose (2010) placed first runner-up at Miss TN USA 2014 - Tennessee has a pretty low return rate compared to other states.
The vast majority of the Miss contestants this year will be competing for the first time. The only returning runner-up - and indeed the only one of last year's top 15 - is Savana Hodge who was 2nd runner-up last year. Rayni Lasley was a semi-finalist in Illinois in 2013 & 2015. Destiny Franklin and Amanda Bell were non-finalists in TN last year.
In Teen both 2018 first runner-up Betty Kelley and 2017 first runner-up Elizabeth Pistole (top 15 in 2018) are competing again this year. Last year's fourth runner-up Bailey Guy is also back. Ryleigh Boyd is the only other returning 2018 semi-finalist.
Returning contestants are marked with asterisks:
The vast majority of the Miss contestants this year will be competing for the first time. The only returning runner-up - and indeed the only one of last year's top 15 - is Savana Hodge who was 2nd runner-up last year. Rayni Lasley was a semi-finalist in Illinois in 2013 & 2015. Destiny Franklin and Amanda Bell were non-finalists in TN last year.
In Teen both 2018 first runner-up Betty Kelley and 2017 first runner-up Elizabeth Pistole (top 15 in 2018) are competing again this year. Last year's fourth runner-up Bailey Guy is also back. Ryleigh Boyd is the only other returning 2018 semi-finalist.
Returning contestants are marked with asterisks:
 2018 Miss top five | Felicia Bolton (3RU), Hannah Sluss (1RU), Alexandra Harper (Miss TN USA), Savana Hodge* (2RU), Megan Miller (4RU) |  2018 Teen top five | Christell Foote (3RU), Betty Kelley* (1RU), Sofia Rovenstine (Miss TN Teen USA), Emma Conn (2RU), Bailey Guy* (4RU) |  2017 Teen Top Five | Desiree Dyson (3RU), Elizabeth Graham Pistole* (1RU), Megan Ski Hollingsworth* (Miss TN Teen USA), Samantha Havenstrite (2RU), Morgan Simpson (4RU) (click to view full size) |
Click "read more" or scroll below to view the full list of contestants with notes of past placements.
Contestant lists
MISS TENNESSEE USA CONTESTANTS (18)
Destiny Franklin • Center Hill (NF 18)
Virginia Britto • Chattanooga
Lydia Hollis • Cleveland
Savana Hodge • Davidson Co. (2RU 18)
Amanda Bell • Downtown Nashville (NF 18, NF 17)
Tara Koch • Franklin
Loren Billingsley • Greater Nashville
Charne' Thomas • Heart of Nashville
Caitlyn Long • Knoxville
CaDana Campbell • Mid-South
Geysel Gomez Lozada • Murfreesboro
Mary Martinez-Schmidt • Music City
Rayni Lasley • Nashville (SF IL USA 15, SF 13)
Alli-Grace Gilstrap • Smoky Mountain
Katherine Rogers • Volunteer State
Morgan Ann Mathis • Wayne Co.
Lauren Murrell • Williamson Co.
Megan Ski Hollingsworth • Wilson Co. (TN TUSA 17)
MISS TENNESSEE TEEN USA CONTESTANTS (28)
Brooklyn Tippett • Brentwood
Mackenzie Sprague • Center Hill
Paradise Roblero • Chattanooga (NF 18)
Aurora Rives • Clarksville
Alyssa Bates • Franklin
Lindsey Fletcher • Gallatin
Jaedin Shilling • Golden Volunteer
Bailey Guy • Greater Nashville (4RU 18, NF 07)
Betty Kelley • Heart of Knoxville (1RU 18)
Whitney Powell • Heart of Nashville
Hallie Marshall • Historic Columbia
Giana Salimov • Iris
Ryleigh Clark • Johnson City (NF 18)
McKenzie Stapleton • Knox Co.
Haylee Taylor • Lawrence Co.
Mattie Ray • Lebanon
Ansley Ecker • Memphis
Elizabeth Pistole • Middle TN (SF 18, 1RU 17)
Taylor Parsons • Mountain City
Isabella Ford • Music City
Savannah Maddison • Music Row
Mary Grace Beasley • Nashville
Ellington Steele • Rocky Top
Ryleigh Boyd • Scenic City (SF 18)
Kloye Peters • Tri Cities
Mercedes Glasgow • Volunteer
Ava Paranjape • Williamson Co.
Alyssa Mayberry • Wilson Co.
Destiny Franklin • Center Hill (NF 18)
Virginia Britto • Chattanooga
Lydia Hollis • Cleveland
Savana Hodge • Davidson Co. (2RU 18)
Amanda Bell • Downtown Nashville (NF 18, NF 17)
Tara Koch • Franklin
Loren Billingsley • Greater Nashville
Charne' Thomas • Heart of Nashville
Caitlyn Long • Knoxville
CaDana Campbell • Mid-South
Geysel Gomez Lozada • Murfreesboro
Mary Martinez-Schmidt • Music City
Rayni Lasley • Nashville (SF IL USA 15, SF 13)
Alli-Grace Gilstrap • Smoky Mountain
Katherine Rogers • Volunteer State
Morgan Ann Mathis • Wayne Co.
Lauren Murrell • Williamson Co.
Megan Ski Hollingsworth • Wilson Co. (TN TUSA 17)
MISS TENNESSEE TEEN USA CONTESTANTS (28)
Brooklyn Tippett • Brentwood
Mackenzie Sprague • Center Hill
Paradise Roblero • Chattanooga (NF 18)
Aurora Rives • Clarksville
Alyssa Bates • Franklin
Lindsey Fletcher • Gallatin
Jaedin Shilling • Golden Volunteer
Bailey Guy • Greater Nashville (4RU 18, NF 07)
Betty Kelley • Heart of Knoxville (1RU 18)
Whitney Powell • Heart of Nashville
Hallie Marshall • Historic Columbia
Giana Salimov • Iris
Ryleigh Clark • Johnson City (NF 18)
McKenzie Stapleton • Knox Co.
Haylee Taylor • Lawrence Co.
Mattie Ray • Lebanon
Ansley Ecker • Memphis
Elizabeth Pistole • Middle TN (SF 18, 1RU 17)
Taylor Parsons • Mountain City
Isabella Ford • Music City
Savannah Maddison • Music Row
Mary Grace Beasley • Nashville
Ellington Steele • Rocky Top
Ryleigh Boyd • Scenic City (SF 18)
Kloye Peters • Tri Cities
Mercedes Glasgow • Volunteer
Ava Paranjape • Williamson Co.
Alyssa Mayberry • Wilson Co.
RSS Feed
