Miss Teen USA 1996


Miss Teen USA 1996, the 14th Miss Teen USA pageant, was televised live from Las Cruces, New Mexico on 21 August 1996. At the conclusion of the final competition, Christie Lee Woods of Texas was crowned by outgoing queen Keylee Sue Sanders of Kansas.
The pageant was hosted by Bob Goen for the third and final year, with color commentary by Shari Belafonte and entertainment from The Monkees. This was the only year that the pageant was held in Las Cruces, although Albuquerque had previously played host to the 1987 Miss USA pageant. For the first time ever, 6 out of 10 semifinalists were African-American.

Results

Placements

Final resultsContestant
Miss Teen USA 1996
1st runner-up
  • Pennsylvania - Patricia Campbell
    • 2nd runner-up
  • California - Michelle Cardamon
    • Top 6
  • Maryland - Jennifer Smith
  • Missouri - Leah Sexton
  • Arizona - Courtney Hamilton
    • Top 10
  • Oklahoma - Latoya Farley
  • Michigan - Tamika Thomas
  • North Dakota - Katrina Bergstrom
  • New York - Aiesha Hendrick

    • Special awards

  • Miss Congeniality: Lavinia Magruder
  • Miss Photogenic: Kelly Gaudet
  • Style Award: Mandy Carraway
  • Best in Swimsuit: Leah Sexton'''

    Historical significance

  • Texas wins competition for the first time. Also becoming in the 13th state who wins Miss Teen USA.
  • Pennsylvania earns the 1st runner-up position for the first time.
  • California earns the 2nd runner-up position for the first time.
  • Arizona finishes as Top 6 for the first time.
  • Maryland finishes as Top 6 for the first time.
  • Missouri finishes as Top 6 for the second time. The last time it was placed in 1994.
  • States that placed in semifinals the previous year were California and Missouri.
  • California and Missouri placed for the third consecutive year.
  • Pennsylvania last placed in 1994.
  • New York last placed in 1993.
  • Maryland and Oklahoma last placed in 1992.
  • North Dakota and Texas last placed in 1991.
  • Arizona last placed in 1990.
  • Michigan placed for the first time.
  • Florida and Kansas break an ongoing streak of placements since 1994.
  • Tennessee breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1993.

    Scores

    • Preliminary competition

    The following is the contestants average scores in the preliminary competition.
    StateAverage
    Alabama8.70
    Alaska8.42
    Arizona9.25
    Arkansas8.70
    California9.18
    Colorado8.40
    Connecticut8.22
    Delaware8.55
    District of Columbia8.44
    Florida9.13
    Georgia8.78
    Hawaii8.73
    Idaho8.47
    Illinois8.82
    Indiana8.46
    Iowa8.77
    Kansas8.88
    Kentucky8.86
    Louisiana8.99
    Maine8.29
    Maryland9.25
    Massachusetts9.04
    Michigan9.14
    Minnesota9.01
    Mississippi8.39
    Missouri9.26
    Montana8.49
    Nebraska8.62
    Nevada9.01
    New Hampshire8.59
    New Jersey8.28
    New Mexico8.56
    New York9.21
    North Carolina8.51
    North Dakota9.40
    Ohio8.92
    Oklahoma9.31
    Oregon8.51
    Pennsylvania9.32
    Rhode Island8.73
    South Carolina9.10
    South Dakota8.92
    Tennessee8.97
    Texas9.27
    Utah8.40
    Vermont8.13
    Virginia8.90
    Washington8.52
    West Virginia8.55
    Wisconsin8.44
    Wyoming8.55


    ;Legend

    Final competition scores

    CountryPreliminariesInterviewSwimsuitEvening GownAverageFinalists
    Missouri9.269.849.769.779.799.54
    California9.189.769.649.669.699.71
    Pennsylvania9.329.759.639.549.649.86
    Texas9.279.399.749.729.629.73
    Arizona9.259.569.599.709.629.40
    Maryland9.259.409.739.559.569.60
    Oklahoma9.319.449.579.639.54-
    Michigan9.139.379.519.409.42-
    North Dakota9.409.159.309.389.27-
    New York9.219.199.189.329.23-


    ;Legend

    Delegates

    The Miss Teen USA 1996 delegates were:
    • Alabama - Luann Roberts
    • Alaska - Brandee McCoskey
    • Arizona - Courtney Hamilton
    • Arkansas - Aimee Delatte
    • California - Michelle Cardamon
    • Colorado - Ara Francis
    • Connecticut - Marissa Perez
    • Delaware - Ashley Anderson
    • District of Columbia - Shannan McCray
    • Florida - Kelly Gaudet
    • Georgia - Summer Newmann
    • Hawaii - Monica Ivey
    • Idaho - Suzan Dandeneau
    • Illinois - Eisa Istok
    • Indiana - Misha Ivetich
    • Iowa - Allison Dickey
    • Kansas - Amanda Carraway
    • Kentucky - Kelly Marie Sodan
    • Louisiana - Kimi Fairchild
    • Maine - Laura Larson
    • Maryland - Jennifer Smith
    • Massachusetts - Maria Menounos
    • Michigan - Tamika Thomas
    • Minnesota - Sarah Cahill
    • Mississippi - Brandee Layne Loving
    • Missouri - Leah Sexton
    • Montana - Grace Murray Tubbs
    • Nebraska - Mandy Groff
    • Nevada - Cerina Vincent
    • New Hampshire - Melissa Coish
    • New Jersey - Jessica Ponzo
    • New Mexico - Whitni Zimmerman
    • New York - Aiesha Hendrick
    • North Carolina - Tammy Ashton
    • North Dakota - Katrina Bergstrom
    • Ohio - Tara Shaffer
    • Oklahoma - Latoya Farley
    • Oregon - Heather Noelle Jones
    • Pennsylvania - Patricia Campbell
    • Rhode Island - Kelly Dutra
    • South Carolina - Wendy Christina Roberts
    • South Dakota - Tatewin Means
    • Tennessee - Adrienne Parker
    • Texas - Christie Lee Woods
    • Utah - Jodi Webb
    • Vermont - Lavinia Magruder
    • Virginia - Kandy Marshall
    • Washington - Emily Ballard
    • West Virginia - Heather Gray
    • Wisconsin - Nicole Lynn Werra
    • Wyoming - Michelle Marie Jefferson

      Crossovers

    • Two contestants later competed in the Miss America pageant. Kelly Gaudet later became Miss Florida 2001 and Marissa Perez held the Miss Connecticut title the same year. Gaudet made the top ten in the pageant.
    • Two other contestants competed in the Miss USA pageant. Amanda Carraway became Miss Kansas USA 1999 and Sarah Cahill was Miss Minnesota USA 2003. Since 1990, this year had the smallest number of delegates who went on to win a Miss USA state title.
    • Christie Lee Woods later competed on the fifth season of the Emmy award winning CBS reality show, The Amazing Race, with her boyfriend turned fiance Colin Guinn, and finished in second place. They were deemed by the show's host to be one of the most competitive couples to ever compete.
    • Patricia Campbell, won one of the episodes of NBC's reality show Fear Factor

      Judges

    • Joyce Brothers
    • Karen Clark
    • Chris Cooper
    • Bobbie Eakes
    • Joseph Kendall
    • Bob Van Riper
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