Miss USA 2002

Miss USA 2002
Date	March 2, 2002
Presenters	Deion Sanders, Ali Landry
Entertainment	Sara Evans
Venue	Genesis Convention Center, Gary, Indiana
Broadcaster	CBS
Placements	12
Winner	Shauntay Hinton District of Columbia
Congeniality	Meredith McCannell
Photogenic	Shannon Ford

The Miss USA 2002 pageant was held in Gary, Indiana on March 2, 2002. The event was won by Shauntay Hinton of the District of Columbia, who was crowned by outgoing queen Kandace Krueger of Texas.

Hinton was the first African-American woman to win the pageant since Chelsi Smith held the title in 1995, and was the first titleholder from Washington, DC since 1964.

Results

Placements

Map showing placements by state

Final results	Contestant
Miss USA 2002	District of Columbia - Shauntay Hinton
1st runner-up	Kansas - Lindsay Douglas
2nd runner-up	Indiana - Kelly Lloyd
3rd runner-up	Minnesota - Lanore VanBuren
4th runner-up	Connecticut - Alita Dawson
Top 12	South Carolina - Ashley Williams Louisiana - Anne Lene Texas - Kasi Kelly Alabama - Tara Tucker Rhode Island - Janet Sutton California - Tarah Peters New York - Karla Cavalli

Special awards

• Miss Congeniality: Meredith McCannell (Montana)
• Miss Photogenic: Shannon Ford (Florida)
• Best in Swimsuit: Lanore VanBuren (Minnesota)

Final competition scores

State Swimsuit Evening Gown Average Minnesota 9.48 9.45 9.47 District of Columbia 9.24 9.53 9.39 Kansas 9.06 9.67 9.37 Indiana 9.42 9.29 9.36 Connecticut 9.39 9.29 9.34 South Carolina 9.41 9.24 9.33 Louisiana 9.27 9.23 9.25 Texas 9.12 9.38 9.25 Alabama 9.17 9.15 9.16 Rhode Island 9.12 9.13 9.13 California 9.01 9.17 9.09 New York 8.96 8.94 8.95

Winner      First runner-up      Second runner-up      Third runner-up      Fourth runner-up

Delegates

The Miss USA 2002 delegates were:

Alabama - Tara Tucker Alaska -Christine Olejniczak Arizona - Jennifer Lenz Arkansas - Amber Boatman California - Tarah Marie Peters Colorado - Keely Gaston Connecticut - Alita Dawson Delaware - Deborah Ann Hoffman District of Columbia - Shauntay Hinton Florida - Shannon Ford Georgia - Heather Hogan Hawaii - Juliet Lighter Idaho - Hilary Ball Illinois - Amanda Reynolds Indiana - Kelly Lloyd Iowa - Lauren Wilson Kansas -Lindsey Douglas Kentucky - Elizabeth Arnold Louisiana - Anne-Katherine Lené Maine - Su-Ying Leung Maryland - Misti Adams Massachusetts - Latoyia Foster Michigan - Rebekah Lynn Decker Minnesota - Lanore Van Buren Mississippi - Heather Soriano Missouri - Melana Scantlin

Montana - Meredith McCannel Nebraska - Stacey Skidmore Nevada - Jenny Valdez New Hampshire - Audra Paquette New Jersey - Robin Williams New Mexico - Ellyn Colyer New York - Karla Cavalli North Carolina - Alison English North Dakota - Amy Elkins Ohio - Kimberly Mullen Oklahoma - Kasie Head Oregon - Kristi Walkowski Pennsylvania - Nicole Bigham Rhode Island - Janet Sutton South Carolina - Ashley Williams South Dakota - Sitania Syrovatka Tennessee - Allison Alderson Texas - Kasi Kelly Utah - Abbie Smith Vermont - Brooke Angus Virginia - Julie Laipply Washington - Carly Shorten West Virginia - Angela Davenport Wisconsin - Cortney Owen Wyoming - Jeannie Crofts

Historical significance

• This became the first win for the District of Columbia in 38 years, when Bobbie Johnson won Miss USA 1964.
• Kansas equaled its highest placement at Miss USA since 1996.
• Indiana had its highest placement since 1981.
• Minnesota had its highest placement since 1977.
• Connecticut placed for the first time since 1969 and had its highest ranking since 1966.
• This is the first time in pageant history that four delegates in the Top 5 were African-American.
• This is the second year in a row and third time since 1995 a Miss Teen USA state delegate did not win or inherit the Miss USA title.
• Two Triple Crown winners, women who have held state titles for Miss Teen USA, Miss USA and Miss America, were in the pageant.
  • Kelly Lloyd (2nd Runner-Up) -- Miss Indiana Teen USA 1993 (1st Runner-Up at Miss Teen USA 1993), Miss Indiana 1999 and Miss Indiana USA 2002
  • Allison Alderson -- Miss Tennessee Teen USA 1994, Miss Tennessee 1999 and Miss Tennessee USA 2002.

Swimsuit Controversy

Controversy erupted over the choice of swimsuits for the swimsuit final competition. Six of the 51 delegates chose an all-red one-piece, while the rest wore a two-piece option. The New York Post reported one contestant, Tarah Marie Peters of California, had points deducted by one judge because of her choice of a one-piece suit, thus eliminating her from the top five contestants. She was the only one of the top twelve who wore the one-piece option.^[1]

Crossovers

Ten delegates had previously competed in either the Miss Teen USA or Miss America pageants, including the two Triple Crown winners who had competed in both. One delegate later won a Miss America state title.

Delegates who had previously held a Miss Teen USA state title were:

• Kelly Lloyd (Indiana) - Miss Indiana Teen USA 1993 (1st runner-up at Miss Teen USA 1993)
• Nicole Bigham (Pennsylvania) - Miss Pennsylvania Teen USA 1994
• Allison Alderson (Tennessee) - Miss Tennessee Teen USA 1994 (Top 6 finalist at Miss Teen USA 1994)
• Melana Scantlin (Missouri) - Miss Missouri Teen USA 1995 (Top 12 semi-finalist at Miss Teen USA 1995)
• Tara Tucker (Alabama) - Miss Alabama Teen USA 1997
• Alita Dawson (Connecticut) - Miss Connecticut Teen USA 1997
• Elizabeth Arnold (Kentucky) - Miss Kentucky Teen USA 1998
• Christine Olejniczak (Alaska) - Miss Alaska Teen USA 2000

Delegates who had previously held a Miss America state title or would later win one were:

• Keely Gaston (Colorado) - Miss Colorado 1998
• Heather Soriano (Mississippi) - Miss Mississippi 1999
• Kelly Lloyd (Indiana) - Miss Indiana 1999 (Albert A. Marks Jr. Interview award)
• Allison Alderson (Tennessee) - Miss Tennessee 1999
• Audra Paquette (New Hampshire) - Miss New Hampshire 2005

See also

• Miss Universe 2002

References

1. ^ "The Insiders: The Post takes you behind the locker-room doors". New York Post. 2002-04-14. p. 90. http://pqarchiver.nypost.com/nypost/access/114340157.html?dids=114340157:114340157&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Apr+14%2C+2002&author=Tom+Keegan+and+Kevin+Kernan&pub=New+York+Post&edition=&startpage=090&desc=THE+INSIDERS%3A+THE+POST+TAKES+YOU+BEHIND+THE+LOCKER-ROOM+DOORS. Retrieved 2007-01-11. 

External links

• Miss USA official website