Miss America 1997

Miss America 1997
Date	September 14, 1996
Presenters	Eva LaRue and John Callahan
Venue	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Broadcaster	NBC
Winner	Tara Dawn Holland Kansas

Miss America 1997, the 72nd Miss America, pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 14, 1996 and televised by the NBC Network. As of 2009, this was the last time that NBC aired the pageant.

Results

Placements

	Contestant
Miss America 1997	Tara Dawn Holland (Miss Kansas)
1st runner-up	Erika Rachael Schwarz (Miss Louisiana)
2nd runner-up	Patricia Regan Leines (Miss Oregon)
3rd runner-up	Alison McCreary (Miss Alabama)
4th runner-up	Kimberly Anne Massaro (Miss Missouri)
Top 10	Melissa Short (Miss Hawaii) Shani Lynn Nielsen (Miss Indiana) Veronica Marie Duka (Miss Kentucky) Kari Litton (Miss Mississippi) Michelle Martinez (Miss Texas)

Special Awards

Preliminary Awards

	Contestant
Preliminary Swimsuit	Melissa Short (Miss Hawaii) Tara Dawn Holland (Miss Kansas) Patricia Regan Leines (Miss Oregon)
Preliminary Talent	Melissa Short (Miss Hawaii) Shani Lynn Nielsen (Miss Indiana) Patricia Regan Leines (Miss Oregon)

Quality of Life Awards

	Contestant
Winner	Alison McCreary (Miss Alabama)
1st runner-up	Tara Dawn Holland (Miss Kansas)
2nd runner-up	Erika Rachael Schwarz (Miss Louisiana)

Non-Finalist Awards

	Contestant
Non-Finalist Talent	Michelle Stanley (Miss Colorado) Jamie Lynn Bolding (Miss Florida) Lori Flick (Miss Massachusetts) Jennifer Roberts (Miss North Carolina) Robyn Hancock (Miss Ohio) Amy Linn Duncan (Miss Oklahoma) Michelle Kang (Miss Virginia) Kari Anne Safford (Miss West Virginia)
Non-Finalist Interview	Jamie Lynn Bolding (Miss Florida)

Other Awards

	Contestant
Waterford Crystal Scholarship Award	Rebecca Darrington (Miss Wyoming)
The Bernie Wayne Performing Arts Scholarship Award	Shani Lynn Nielsen (Miss Indiana)
The Albert Marks, Jr. Memorial Fund Interview Award	Jamie Lynn Bolding (Miss Florida)[1]

Delegates

The Miss America 1997 delegates are:^[2]

State	Name	Hometown	Age	Talent	Placement	Awards	Notes
Alabama	Alison McCreary	Florence, Alabama	22	Vocal	3rd runner-up	Quality of Life Award Winner
Alaska	Christine Buschur	Eagle River, Alaska	21	Vocal
Arizona	Erin Gingrich	Yuma, Arizona	21	Classical Piano
Arkansas	Melonie McGarrah	Rogers, Arkansas	22	Vocal
California	Lyndsay Kahler	Orange, California	22	Vocal
Colorado	Michelle Stanley	Littleton, Colorado	20	Dramatic Monologue		Non-Finalist Talent	Later Miss Colorado USA 1998
Connecticut	Stacy Perrone	Wolcott, Connecticut	22	Vocal
Delaware	Aimée Michelle Voshell	Felton, Delaware	18	Ballet En Pointe
Florida	Jamie Lynn Bolding	Lakeland, Florida	22	Lyrical Ballet		Non-Finalist Talent, Non-Finalist Interview, The Albert Marks, Jr. Memorial Fund Interview Award
Georgia	Shea Olliff	Augusta, Georgia	24	Vocal
Hawaii	Melissa Short	Kaaawa, Hawaii	23	Opera	Top 10	Preliminary Swimsuit, Preliminary Talent
Idaho	Misty Marriah Esplin	Preston, Idaho	19	Classical Clarinet
Illinois	Tania Joy Gibson	Lake Barrington, Illinois	19	Vocal
Indiana	Shani Lynn Nielsen	New Albany, Indiana	24	Vocal	Top 10	Preliminary Talent, The Bernie Wayne Performing Arts Scholarship Award
Iowa	Natasha Ann Courter	Davenport, Iowa	23	Tap Dance
Kansas	Tara Dawn Holland	Overland Park, Kansas	23	Operatic Vocal	Miss America 1997	Quality of Life 1st runner-up, Preliminary Swimsuit
Kentucky	Veronica Marie Duka	Campbellsville, Kentucky	19	Musical Theatre/Vocal	Top 10
Louisiana	Erika Rachael Schwarz	Folsom, Louisiana	24	Composing/Piano	1st runner-up	Quality of Life 2nd runner-up
Maine	Sarah Nadeau	Portland, Maine	20	Classical Vocal
Maryland	Susan Alexander	Silver Spring, Maryland	24	Popular Vocal
Massachusetts	Lori Flick	Boston, Massachusetts	24	Interpretive Gymnastics Dance		Non-Finalist Talent
Michigan	Jennifer Lynn Drayton	Saginaw, Michigan	22	Classical Piano, with original accompaniment
Minnesota	Sherry Johnson	Owatonna, Minnesota	22	Vocal
Mississippi	Kari Litton	Pontotoc, Mississippi	23	Vocal	Top 10
Missouri	Kimberly Anne Massaro	St. Louis, Missouri	24	Tap Dance	4th runner-up
Montana	Aubrey Jo Hiller	Missoula, Montana	22	Vocal			Previously Miss Montana Teen USA 1992
Nebraska	Rachel White	Columbus, Nebraska	20	Vocal
Nevada	Annette Albertson	Reno, Nevada	24	Vocal
New Hampshire	Michelle Tolson	Manchester, New Hampshire	22	Jazz Dance
New Jersey	Melanie Joyce Bell	Vernon, New Jersey	20	Jazz Dance
New Mexico	Trisha Williams	Hobbs, New Mexico	19	Contemporary Gospel
New York	Tammy Harris	Williamstown, New York	24	Dance
North Carolina	Jennifer Michelle Roberts	Greensboro, North Carolina	21	Tap Dance		Non-Finalist Talent
North Dakota	Stephanie Lee Hamilton	Williston, North Dakota	18	Lyrical Dance
Ohio	Robyn Hancock	Grand Rapids, Ohio	21	Classical Ballet		Non-Finalist Talent
Oklahoma	Amy Linn Duncan	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	23	Dramatic Vocal		Non-Finalist Talent
Oregon	Patricia Regan Leines	Medford, Oregon	24	Operatic Aria	2nd runner-up	Preliminary Swimsuit, Preliminary Talent
Pennsylvania	GiGi Gordon	Butler, Pennsylvania	23	Lyrical Dance
Rhode Island	Elana Eve Chomiszak	Providence, Rhode Island	21	Modern Dance
South Carolina	Angela Michelle Hughes	Anderson, South Carolina	21	Tap Dance
South Dakota	Stephanie Camp	Rapid City, South Dakota	20	Vocal
Tennessee	Jeni Stephens	Memphis, Tennessee	23	Popular Vocal
Texas	Michelle Martinez	Dallas, Texas	23	Classical Piano	Top 10
Utah	Nanette Pearson	Pleasant Grove, Utah	23	Classical Ballet
Vermont	Nicole Juvan	Essex Junction, Vermont	22	Vocal
Virginia	Michelle Kang	Fredericksburg, Virginia	22	Classical Piano		Non-Finalist Talent
Washington	Janet Reasons	Port Orchard, Washington	22	Vocal
West Virginia	Kari Anne Safford	Point Pleasant, West Virginia	23	Vocal		Non-Finalist Talent
Wisconsin	Jennifer Streblow	Oshkosh, Wisconsin	18	Vocal
Wyoming	Rebecca Darrington	Gillette, Wyoming	19	Comedy Vocal		Waterford Crystal Scholarship Award

References

1. ^ "THE MISS AMERICA PAGEANT 1996 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS". Miss America Organization. Archived from the original on July 6, 1997. http://web.archive.org/web/19970706142442/http://www.missamerica.org/1996/scholarship.html. Retrieved July 26, 2010. 
2. ^ "Meet Our 1996 Contestants!". Miss America Organization. Archived from the original on July 6, 1997. http://web.archive.org/web/19970706141018/http://www.missamerica.org/1996/contestants.html. Retrieved July 26, 2010. 

External links

• Miss America official website