Miss America 2005

Miss America 2005
Date	September 18, 2004
Presenters	Chris Harrison
Venue	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Broadcaster	ABC
Winner	Deidre Downs Alabama

Miss America 2005, the 84th Miss America, pageant, was held in Atlantic City on September 18, 2004 following a week of events including the preliminary competition.

The pageant was broadcast live on ABC from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Although this was not known at the time, this pageant would be the last held in Atlantic City, as the pageant moved to Las Vegas, Nevada beginning in 2006. It was also the last one to be televised by an over-the-air network until 2011.

At the conclusion of the final night of competition, Ericka Dunlap crowned Deidre Downs of Alabama as her successor.

Selection of contestants

One delegate from each state was chosen in state pageants held in mid 2005. Prior to competing in state pageants, the majority of delegates first were required to win a local title. Each delegates title is pre-dated to 2005, for example Deidre Downs was "Miss Alabama 2004" rather than "Miss Alabama 2005".

Many contestants competed in state pageants in both the Miss America and Miss USA systems numerous times before winning titles, and some had previously in other states to those which they won their state title.

All contestants were required to be between the ages of 17-24, unmarried and a citizen of the United States. They were also required to meet residency and education requirements.

Competition

All delegates compete in an interview competition with the judges, based on their platform issue, and also in the swimsuit, evening gown and talent competitions.

Prior to the nationally televised competition, the delegates participate in three nights of preliminary competition, where preliminary award winners are chosen in each category.

During the final telecast, following the announcement of the semi-finalists, the top ten compete in swimsuit and evening gown. The top five go on to compete in the talent competition, and the top three face a final interview round.

Results

Placements

• Miss America 2005: Deidre Downs (Miss Alabama)
• First runner-up: Jennifer Dupont (Miss Louisiana)
• Second runner-up: Kirstin Elrod (Miss North Carolina)
• Third runner-up: Lacy Fleming (Miss Arkansas)
• Fourth runner-up: Veena Goel (Miss California)

• Top 10: Danica Tisdale (Miss Georgia), Megan Bushell (Miss Kansas), Christina Ellington (Miss New York), Elizabeth Kinney (Miss Oklahoma), Jamie Story (Miss Texas)

Special awards

Quality of Life

• Winner: Deidre Downs (Miss Alabama) - "Curing Childhood Cancer"
• 1st runner-up: Elizabeth Barchas (Miss Idaho) - "Promoting Understanding of Individuals with Disabilities"
• 2nd runner-up: Elizabeth Muto (Miss Nevada) - "‘H.E.L.P.’ing Children Overcome Adversities"

Preliminary Awards

Talent

• Veena Goel (Miss California)
• Danica Tisdale (Miss Georgia)
• Erika Ebbel (Miss Massachusetts)

Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit

• Jenna Edwards (Miss Florida)
• Jennifer Dupont (Miss Louisiana)
• Amy Davis (Miss Utah)

Later 1st Runner up in Miss Utah USA 2007

Non-finalist Interview

• Elizabeth Barchas (Miss Idaho)
• Maria Maldonado (Miss Kentucky)
• Elizabeth Muto (Miss Nevada)
• Alyssa Spellman (Miss New Hampshire)
• Susan Yara (Miss New Mexico)

Non-finalist Talent

• Sarah Wiley (Miss Indiana)
• Carolyn Nicholas (Miss Iowa)
• Ami Vice (Miss Maine)
• Erika Ebbel (Miss Massachusetts)
• Whitney Weeks (Miss Missouri)
• Erica Scanlon (Miss New Jersey)
• Amanda Beagle (Miss Ohio)
• Ashley Eicher (Miss Tennessee)

Delegates

The Miss America 2005 delegates were:

State	Name	Hometown	Age	Talent	Placement	Special awards	Notes 1
Alabama	Deidre Downs	Birmingham	24	Vocal	Winner	Quality of Life Award Winner
Alaska	Christina Reasner	Sterling	22	Pop Vocal
Arizona	Katherine Kennedy	Tempe	24	Baton Twirling
Arkansas	Lacy Fleming	Hampton	22	Vocal	3rd runner-up
California	Veena Goel	Laguna Hills	22	Jazz Dance	4th runner-up	Preliminary Talent
Colorado	Laura Tobey	Denver	23	Jazz Vocal
Connecticut	Nikki Palmieri	North Haven	22	Jazz Dance
Delaware	Linda Kurtz	Dover	21	Ballet
District of Columbia	Therese Lizardo	Watchung, New Jersey	24	Tahitian/Hawaiian Dance
Florida	Jenna Edwards	Miami	23	Pop Vocal		Preliminary Swimsuit	Later Miss Florida USA 2007
Georgia	Danica Tisdale	Atlanta	23	Vocal	Top 10	Preliminary Talent
Hawaii	Olena Rubin	Kilauea	23	Vocal		Miss Congeniality
Idaho	Elizabeth Barchas	Boise	24	Classical Piano		Quality of Life 1st runner-up, Non-Finalist Interview, Leonard C. Horn Award for Legal Studies	Triple Crown winner - previously Miss Idaho Teen USA 1998 and Miss Idaho USA 2001
Illinois	Michelle LaGroue	Naperville	24	Vocal
Indiana	Sarah Wiley	Carmel	24	Vocal		Non-Finalist Talent
Iowa	Carolyn Nicholas	Clear Lake	23	Flute		Non-Finalist Talent
Kansas	Megan Bushell	Wichita	22	Classical Vocal	Top 10
Kentucky	Rachelle Phillips	Princeton	24	Vocal		Non-Finalist Interview
Louisiana	Jennifer Dupont	Plaquemine	23	Jazz Dance	1st runner-up	Preliminary Swimsuit	Triple Crown winner - previously Miss Louisiana Teen USA 1998 and Miss Louisiana USA 2000
Maine	Ami Vice	Lisbon Falls	23	Classical Vocal		Non-Finalist Talent, Bernie Wayne Scholarship Award for the Performing Arts
Maryland	Tiffany Jenkins	Silver Spring	24	Vocal
Massachusetts	Erika Ebbel	Cambridge	23	Classical Piano		Preliminary Talent, Non-Finalist Talent
Michigan	Kelli Talicska	Auburn	24	Vocal
Minnesota	Tiffany Ogle	Waverly	24	Vocal
Mississippi	Jalin Wood	Waynesboro	23	Piano			Later Miss Mississippi USA 2007
Missouri	Whitney Weeks	Chesterfield	24	Tap Dance		Non-Finalist Talent
Montana	Evangelina Duke	Billings	20	Vocal
Nebraska	Brook Matthews	Blair	24	Vocal
Nevada	Elizabeth Muto	Las Vegas	24	Monologue		Quality of Life 2nd runner-up, Non-Finalist Interview
New Hampshire	Alyssa Spellman	Derry	21	Vocal		Non-Finalist Interview
New Jersey	Erica Scanlon	Pitman	22	Vocal		Non-Finalist Talent
New Mexico	Susan Yara	Pecos	23	Vocal		Non-Finalist Interview
New York	Christina Ellington	New York City	22	Operatic Vocal	Top 10
North Carolina	Kirstin Elrod	Cary	23	Classical Vocal	2nd runner-up
North Dakota	Ashley Ford	Cavalier	21	Vocal
Ohio	Amanda Beagle	Warren	24	Operatic Aria		Non-Finalist Talent
Oklahoma	Elizabeth Kinney	Mooreland	22	Tap Dance	Top 10
Oregon	Brook Roberts	Roseburg	21	Vocal			The Amazing Race 17 Contestant along with her fellow home shopping host Claire Champlin.
Pennsylvania	Victoria Bechtold	Johnstown	21	Classical Operatic Vocal
Rhode Island	Aimée Belisle	North Smithfield	24	Ballet
South Carolina	Ann Wood	Spartanburg	23	Lyrical Dance
South Dakota	Kyra Korver	Mitchell	23	Broadway Vocal
Tennessee	Ashley Eicher	Nashville	24	Vocal		Non-Finalist Talent
Texas	Jamie Story	Bedford	23	Classical Piano	Top 10
Utah	Amy Davis	Bountiful	22	Classical Piano		Preliminary Swimsuit	Later 1st Runner-up to Miss Utah USA 2007
Vermont	Megan Yardley	Burlington	24	Vocal
Virginia	Mariah Rice	Mechanicsville	24	Lyrical Dance
Virgin Islands	Kinila Callendar	St. Thomas	24	Cultural Dance
Washington	Allison Porter	University Place	24	Classical Violin
West Virginia	Julia Burton	Petersburg	22	Pop Vocal
Wisconsin	Molly McGrath	Wisconsin Rapids	22	Theatrical Dance en Pointe
Wyoming	Megan Reichert	Dayton	19	Classical Vocal

¹ Abbrevs: NF = Non-finalist, RU = Runner-up, T = Top, Nat Sweetheart = National Sweetheart (competition for Miss America runners-up)

External links

• Miss America official website