Miss USA 1991

Miss USA 1991
Date	February 22, 1991
Presenters	Dick Clark, Barbara Eden and Deborah Shelton
Venue	Century II Convention Center, Wichita, Kansas
Broadcaster	CBS
Entrants	51
Placements	11
Winner	Kelli McCarty Kansas
Congeniality	Charlotte Ray
Photogenic	Pat Arnold

Miss USA 1991, the 40th Miss USA pageant, was televised live from the Century II Convention Center in Wichita, Kansas on 22 February 1991.

At the conclusion of the final competition, Kelli McCarty of Kansas was crowned by outgoing titleholder Carole Gist of Michigan. Kelli became the first titleholder from Kansas and only the 3rd winner to be crowned as Miss USA in her home state.

The pageant was hosted by Dick Clark for the third of five years, with color commentary by Barbara Eden for the only time and Miss USA 1970 Deborah Shelton for the first time.

This was the second of four years that the pageant was held in Wichita, Kansas.

Results

Placements

Map showing placements by state

• Miss USA 1991: Kelli McCarty (Kansas)
• The runners-up were:
  • 1st runner-up: Charlotte Ray (New Jersey)
  • 2nd runner-up: Diane Schock (California)

• The other top six finalists were (in alphabetical order): Lisa Morgan (Illinois), Pat Arnold (North Carolina) and Julie Khoury (Oklahoma).

• The remaining semi-finalists were (in order of placement): Maureen Murray (New York), Candice Carley (Alabama), Kym Digman (Hawaii), Maricarroll Verlinde (Arizona), Olga Calderon (Oregon)

Special awards

• Miss Congeniality: Charlotte Ray (New Jersey)
• Miss Photogenic: Pat Arnold (North Carolina)
• Best State Costume: Maricarroll Verlinde (Arizona)

Historical significance

• Kansas placed for the first time since 1973 and went on to win the crown. Kelli McCarty is now an actress.
• New Jersey made the top three for the third consecutive year, a record for the state and a rare occurrence for most states in the history of the Miss USA pageant.
• North Carolina placed for the first time since 1986.
• Illinois placed for the eighth consecutive year, a record for the state.
• New York placed for the first time since 1983.
• This was Alabama's first placement since 1981.
• Hawaii placed for the first time since 1985.
• Oregon placed for the first time since 1984.
• Texas failed to place, ending the state's 16-year streak that is yet to be repeated.

Scores

Preliminary competition

The following are the contestants' scores in the preliminary competition.

State Interview Swimsuit Evening gown Average Alabama 8.33 8.03 8.38 8.247 Alaska 7.86 7.27 7.64 7.590 Arizona 8.30 7.96 8.33 8.197 Arkansas 8.96 7.67 7.76 8.040 California 8.30 8.34 8.39 8.343 Colorado 7.91 6.97 7.51 7.463 Connecticut 7.70 7.77 8.13 7.393 Delaware 8.29 7.29 7.74 7.773 District of Columbia 7.70 8.19 8.10 7.997 Florida 8.63 7.57 8.31 8.170 Georgia 8.26 7.30 7.71 7.757 Hawaii 7.79 8.50 8.84 8.337 Idaho 8.46 7.19 8.38 8.010 Illinois 8.57 8.17 8.19 8.310 Indiana 8.29 7.43 7.91 7.877 Iowa 7.97 7.90 7.74 7.870 Kansas 8.77 8.17 8.31 8.417 Kentucky 7.93 8.16 7.81 7.967 Louisiana 7.91 7.63 8.03 7.857 Maine 7.60 7.96 7.59 7.717 Maryland 8.33 7.57 7.86 7.920 Massachusetts 7.99 7.40 7.30 7.563 Michigan 8.09 8.30 8.14 8.177 Minnesota 8.04 7.69 7.27 7.667 Mississippi 8.09 7.73 8.31 8.043 Missouri 7.64 7.70 7.85 7.730 Montana 7.66 7.41 7.24 7.437 Nebraska 8.13 7.39 7.72 7.747 Nevada 8.20 7.53 7.08 7.603 New Hampshire 8.26 8.14 7.90 8.100 New Jersey 8.66 8.17 7.94 8.257 New Mexico 8.06 7.76 7.41 7.743 New York 8.64 8.13 8.24 8.337 North Carolina 8.40 8.23 7.94 8.190 North Dakota 8.23 7.89 7.93 8.017 Ohio 8.27 7.19 7.37 7.610 Oklahoma 8.17 8.56 8.44 8.390 Oregon 8.53 8.06 8.00 8.197 Pennsylvania 8.49 7.67 8.00 8.053 Rhode Island 7.86 6.89 7.33 7.360 South Carolina 7.77 7.87 8.06 7.900 South Dakota 8.07 8.12 7.91 8.033 Tennessee 7.80 8.47 8.25 8.173 Texas 8.09 7.56 7.53 7.727 Utah 8.53 7.86 8.15 8.180 Vermont 8.13 7.31 7.60 7.680 Virginia 8.57 7.88 7.77 8.073 Washington 8.20 7.47 7.57 7.747 West Virginia 8.04 7.69 7.66 7.797 Wisconsin 8.06 7.53 7.93 7.840 Wyoming 7.76 7.21 7.35 7.440

Winner      First runner-up      Second runner-up      Top 6 Finalist      Top 11 Semifinalist

Final competition

Country Interview Swimsuit Evening Gown Average Kansas 9.357 9.084 9.450 9.297 New Jersey 9.464 8.896 9.243 9.201 California 9.284 8.943 9.436 9.221 North Carolina 9.214 8.829 9.257 9.100 Oklahoma 9.241 8.830 9.214 9.095 Illinois 9.271 8.733 9.243 9.082 New York 9.150 8.586 9.433 9.056 Alabama 9.121 8.800 9.236 9.052 Hawaii 8.929 8.874 9.314 9.039 Arizona 8.808 8.714 9.243 8.921 Oregon 8.686 8.900 9.143 8.909

Winner      First runner-up      Second runner-up      Top 6 Finalist

Delegates

The Miss USA 1991 delegates were:

Alabama - Candice Carley Alaska - Tiffany Smith Arizona - Maricarroll Verlinde Arkansas - Angela Rockwell California - Diane Schock Colorado - Melanie Ness Connecticut - Valorie Abate Delaware - Laurie Lucidonio District of Columbia - LaKecia Smith Florida - Rosa Velilla Georgia - Tamara Rhodes Hawaii - Kym Lehua Digman Idaho - Lori Easley Illinois - Lisa Morgan Indiana - Cathi Bennett Iowa - Heather Bowers Kansas - Kelli McCarty Kentucky - Susan Farris Louisiana - Melinda Murphy Maine - Melissa Oliver Maryland - Lisa Marie Lawson Massachusetts - Laura Wheeler Michigan - Leann Pothi Minnesota - April Herke Mississippi - Mitzi Swanson Missouri - Tiffany Hazell

Montana - JoAnn Jorgensen Nebraska - Ziba Ayeen Nevada - Jodi Jensen New Hampshire - Adriana Molinari New Jersey - Charlotte Ray New Mexico - Tiffany Danton New York - Maureen Murray North Carolina - Pat Arnold North Dakota - Mischelle Chistensen Ohio - Amy Glaze Oklahoma - Julie Khoury Oregon - Olga Calderon Pennsylvania - Adrienne Romano Rhode Island - Lynda Michael South Carolina - Traci Rufty South Dakota - Jillayne Fossum Tennessee - Angela Johnson Texas - Chris Bogard Utah - Patti Jo Bender Vermont - Margaret Corey Virginia - Traci Dority Washington - LaNae Williams West Virginia - Krista Ransbottom Wisconsin - Kimberly Totdahl Wyoming - Wendy Lee Dunn

Crossovers

• Delegates who had previously held a Miss America state title or would later win one were:
  • Kimberly Totdahl (Wisconsin) - Miss Wisconsin 1989
  • Joann Kayleen Jorgensen (Montana) - Miss Montana 1992
  • Valorie Abate (Connecticut) - Miss Connecticut 1992 (Non-Finalist Talent Award at Miss America)

• Delegates who had previously competed in the Miss Teen USA pageant were:
  • Julie Khoury (Oklahoma) - Miss Oklahoma Teen USA 1985
  • Maureen Murray (New York) - Miss New Hampshire Teen USA 1983
  • Olga Calderon (Oregon) - Miss Oregon Teen USA 1985
  • Jillayne Fossum (South Dakota) - Miss South Dakota Teen USA 1988

See also

• Miss Teen USA 1991

References

External links

• Official website