One of my favourite sections of the site (even if I’ve never settled on the perfect name for it!), a look at all the Miss Missouri Teen USA titleholders who’ve gone on to compete at Miss USA or in other state pageants. It’s always inspiring to see where their journeys have taken them — whether they won a crown early on, competed once or twice and then hung up the heels or kept showing up year after year, showing persistence in their quest to walk the Miss USA stage.
A total of ten Miss Missouri Teen USA titleholders have won Miss titles: eight for Missouri and two for Kansas – Tavia Shackles (1990) and Tiffany Meyer (1994). Of those, four have made the top four at Miss USA. Every Miss Missouri Teen USA from 1993 (Melanie Breedlove) to 1998 (Brittany McDonald) competed in a Miss USA state pageant, with four winning titles. Leah Sexton (1996) came agonizingly close – she was twice a runner-up, including to her predecessor Melana Scantlin (1995) in 2002. Most recently Shae Smith (2022) has won Miss Missouri USA 2025.
2nd runner-up
1
Tavia Shackles (1990), Melanie Breedlove (1993), Tiffany Meyer (1994)
4th runner-up
1
Larissa Meek (1997)
* Where the semi-finalists are cut in multiple stages before the top 5 or 6
1985
1
Rhonda Hoglan (1985)
1993
1
Tavia Shackles (1990)
1998
1
Melanie Breedlove (1993)
2000
1
Tiffany Meyer (1994)
2001
1
Larissa Meek (1997)
2002
1
Melania Scantlin (1995)
2007
1
Amber Seyer (2003)
7
Rhonda Hoglan (1985), Melanie Breedlove (1993), Melania Scantlin (1995), Larissa Meek (1997), Amber Seyer (2003), Erica Sturdefant (2010), Sydnee Stottlemyre (2011), Shae Smith (2022)
Kansas
2
Tavia Shackles (1990), Tiffany Meyer (1994)
1980s
1
Rhonda Hoglen (1985)
1990s
5
Tavia Shackles (1990), Melanie Breedlove (1993), Tiffany Meyer (1994), Melana Scantlin (1995), Larissa Meek (1997)
2000s
1
Amber Seyer (2003)
Winners highlighted in italics. Stats may be inaccurate, especially for the 1980s & 1990s as I am reliant on newspaper archives which do not list all contestants.
1980s
1
Rhonda Hoglen (1985)
1990s
7
Tavia Shackles (1990), Melanie Breedlove (1993), Tiffany Meyer (1994), Melana Scantlin (1995), Leah Sexton (1996), Larissa Meek (1997), Brittany McDonald (1998),
2000s
7
Caitlin McIntosh (2000), Amber Seyer (2003), Alissa Reitmeier (2004), Rachel Woolard (2005), Breanna Huellinghorst (2006), Lauren Peterson (2007), Jeni Dixon (2008)
2010s
4
Erica Sturdefant (2010), Sydnee Stottlemyre (2011), Brenda Smith-Lezama (2013), Samantha Jo Bowers (2014)
Missouri, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, Ohio, Virginia
Winner
9
Rhonda Hoglen (1985), Tavia Shackles (1990), Melanie Breedlove (1993), Tiffany Meyer (1994), Melana Scantlin (1995), Larissa Meek (1997), Amber Seyer (2003), Erica Sturdefant (2010), Sydnee Stottlemyre (2011), Shae Smith (2022)
1st runner-up
6
Leah Sexton (1996), Alissa Reitmeier (2004), Rachel Woolard (2005), Lauren Peterson (2007), Brenda Smith-Lezama (2013)
3rd runner-up
1
Caitlin McIntosh (2000)
Semi-finalist
2
Brittany McDonald (1998), Jeni Dixon (2008)
