Miss Teen USA 1996 explained

Winner:	Christie Lee Woods
Represented:	Texas
Date:	August 21, 1996
Acts:	The Monkees
Venue:	Pan American Center, Las Cruces, New Mexico
Entrants:	51
Placements:	10
Congeniality:	Lavinia Magruder Vermont
Photogenic:	Kelly Gaudet Florida
Before:	1995
Next:	1997

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.^[1]

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 results	Contestant
Miss Teen USA 1996	Texas – Christie Lee Woods
1st Runner-Up	Pennsylvania – Patricia Campbell
2nd Runner-Up	California – Michelle Cardamon
Top 6 (in order of placement)	Maryland – Jennifer Smith Missouri – Leah Sexton Arizona – Courtney Hamilton
Top 10 (in order of placement)	Oklahoma – Latoya Farley Michigan – Tamika Thomas North Dakota – Katrina Bergstrom New York – Aiesha Hendrick

Special awards

• Miss Congeniality: Lavinia Magruder (Vermont)
• Miss Photogenic: Kelly Gaudet (Florida)
• Style Award: Mandy Carraway (Kansas)
• Best in Swimsuit: Leah Sexton (Missouri)

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^[2]
• Connecticut - Marissa Perez
• Delaware - Ashley Anderson
• District of Columbia - Shannan McCray
• Florida - Kelly Gaudet^[3]
• 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^[4]
• 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^[5]
• Nevada - Cerina Vincent^[6]
• New Hampshire - Melissa Coish
• New Jersey - Jessica Ponzo
• New Mexico - Whitni Zimmerman
• New York - Aiesha Hendrick^[7]
• North Carolina - Tammy Ashton
• North Dakota - Katrina Bergstrom
• Ohio - Tara Shaffer
• Oklahoma - Latoya Farley^[8]
• Oregon - Heather Noelle Jones
• Pennsylvania - Patricia Campbell
• Rhode Island - Kelly Dutra
• South Carolina - Wendy Christina Roberts
• South Dakota - Tatewin Means
• Tennessee - Adrienne Parker^[9]
• Texas - Christie Lee Woods
• Utah - Jodi Webb
• Vermont - Lavinia Magruder
• Virginia - Kandy Marshall
• Washington - Emily Ballard^[10]
• West Virginia - Heather Gray^[11]
• Wisconsin - Nicole Lynn Werra
• Wyoming - Michelle Marie Jefferson

External links

• Official website

Notes and References

1. News: 18-Year-Old Texan Clinches Miss Teen USA Title . The Associated Press. 1996-08-21.
2. News: Teen eyes national beauty pageant; Being a 'burger queen' hasn't hurt . Rocky Mountain News. Gary. Massaro. 1996-05-02.
3. News: Kelly Gaudet of Miami crowned 1996 Miss Florida Teen USA . Business Wire. 1995-11-25.
4. News: Area contestant in Miss Teen show . The Baton Rouge Advocate. 1996-08-21.
5. News: Just the Girl Next Door Model, Titleholder Says She Works Hard, but She's Average Teen at Heart Mandy Groff. The Omaha World-Herald. Kristi. Wright. 1995-10-15.
6. News: Miss Nevada Teen USA serving as role model . The Las Vegas Review-Journal. 1995-11-14. Nora. Garza.
7. News: A little bit teen-ager, a little bit beauty queen: Liverpool High School junior crowned Miss New York Teen USA. Syracuse Herald-Journal. 1995-11-28. J. Trout Lowen.
8. News: Holland Hall Student Is Miss Oklahoma Teen USA . Tulsa World. 1995-10-18.
9. News: UT coed competes for Miss Teen USA; Newport native represents state at national pageant. The Knoxville News-Sentinel. 1996-08-14.
10. News: Vancouver teen-ager eagerly practicing for national pageant. The Columbian. 1996-08-19. Annie. Pierce.
11. News: Miss Teen winner to represent state. Charleston Gazette. 1996-08-17.