THE PRETHOUGHTS

THE RESULTS (August 2, 2014)

Congratulations to Katherine (K. Lee) Graham on capturing a second Miss Teen USA crown for South Carolina! South Carolina last won in 1998 when Vanessa Minnillo did it for this state that has seen many success stories at this pageant and has placed as a runner-up many times. But oh, how could those judges let the stunning woman I picked to win (Mississippi's Vaeda Mann) be forced to settle for 1st runner up??? So naturally that was a disappointment to me but hopefully we will see Vaeda at Miss USA someday. In terms of my predictions, I picked 9 of the semifinals plus 3 honorable mentions (New Jersey, Indiana and Tennessee) but the 3 ladies that escaped my list that placed were: Delaware (who literally was my next choice), Wisconsin and Massachusetts. I will be posting my full commentary on Miss Teen USA 2014 on August 6.

THE PREDICTIONS (August 2, 2014)

So who will be the new Miss Teen USA? Well, as always, this proved to be an extremely difficult task to narrow this group down to 16 semifinalists because there are so many delegates that could make it for one reason or another and this is such a competitive group that I really had to start nitpicking to narrow it down so after watch each delegate in the preliminaries competing in swimsuits and gowns and also watching their close-up videos online and after having many rewritten lists, here are my final predictions for Miss Teen USA 2014!

TOM'S FINAL PREDICTIONS FOR MISS TEEN USA 2014

Winner=Mississippi-Vaeda Mann

Vaeda is just so gorgeous but apart from that a lot of people are getting that winner vibe from her including myself which leads her to top my list as she has a great body, overall look and had a great close-up video also. Mississippi has only won the crown once which was back in 1987 when the stunning, Kristi Lynn Addis captured the crown so will their latest stunning queen, Vaeda give Mississippi its 2nd Miss Teen USA crown?

1st Runner Up=Minnesota-Catherine Stanley

Catherine is another one that just pops and she has a very polished and refined look but still comes across as very warm and approachable.

2nd Runner Up=Pennsylvania-Sydney Robertson

It helps to have a unique look and Sydney certainly pulls off the short hair very well but apart from that, Sydney speaks incredibly well and showed a lot of poise in her close-up video and a lot of people really seem to favor her so Sydney seems to be a universal favorite.

3rd Runner Up=West Virginia-Lexsey Marrara

West Virginia has been doing extremely well lately placing as 1st runner up in 2012 and 2nd runner up in 2013 so by that logic, West Virginia should finish 3rd runner up in 2014 so maybe not-so-subconsciously, that's why I'm placing her here but Lexsey could very well take it all as she is extremely photogenic and that face and her overall appearance coupled with her very genuine manner of speaking give her that edge so I'm looking for a strong finish from Lexsey.

4th Runner Up=Connecticut-Sydney West

Sisters are doing it for themselves!
Are we about to witness a little history here? Sydney obviously must feel several times more pressure than any other delegate this year as she is the sister of Miss Teen USA 2012 herself, Logan West. For both the West sisters to accomplish the feat of capturing the Miss Connecticut Teen USA crown is incredible so will Sydney become the first sister of a former national titleholder to capture the same national crown? While the odds seem to be against her, she seems to be handling the pressure well and her participation in this pageant makes it that much more exciting!

SEMIFINALISTS:

District of Columbia-Dominick Fink

Dominick had a great close-up video so I can see her acing the interviews given that she is also a former Miss Virginia's Outstanding Teen and the story of her having partial hearing loss can only work in her favor. She carries herself well and seems very poised to do well in this competition.

South Carolina-Katherine (K. Lee) Graham

K. Lee also has a great, fresh look and I really like her hair. She does have a great body and her gown was unique. South Carolina normally does well at Miss Teen USA and her close-up really demonstrated her strong interview skills so I'm looking for her to place.

Nevada-Alexa Taylor

I like this girl's look a lot. It's very Avril Lavigne and very teen and she also has a very bright personality and seems very engaging in her close-up video so I just find her very likeable and she has what it takes to do well. In 2013, Connecticut won Miss USA which was the state of the reigning Miss Teen USA 2012 and Nevada won Miss USA earlier this year so will see be able to pull it off for Nevada?

Oklahoma-Brooklynne Bond

She has a great look for Teen and she had a good close-up video so I expect her to place. Her gown reminds me a bit of the gown Shauna Gambill wore when she won Miss Teen USA 1994. It's also extremely rare for the Teen titleholder to have the exact same first name and even spelled the same way as her sister Miss titleholder, Brooklynne Young, Miss Oklahoma USA 2014.

Michigan-Iris Robare

Iris seems to have a very Miss Teen USA 2003, Tami Farrell-esque vibe to her. Her close-up video made me think that she may have a similar charm or appeal as Tami. Couple that will her accomplishments being on Student Council and being chosen over 1500 students to represent her state at the Conference on National Affairs in addition to her great body and gown and fun presentation and I think this makes her semifinalist material.

Arizona-Savannah Wix

One of three ladies named Savannah competing this year, Arizona's rep had a close-up that made her seem fun and bubbly and she likes Saturday Night Live so I think her spirit will win over the judges in interview. She also has a nice body and she also has a two-piece gown like Alabama and Virginia are sporting so I think she will get noticed.

New Mexico-Aundria Littlejohn

I was extremely impressed with this girl's close-up so I think Aundria will wow in interviews and apart from that, she presents herself on stage very well with an appealing sass and just stands out. She has had to move 20 times in her young life due to her father's job with the NBA so this seems to have given her a maturity and ability to adapt to various environments.

Idaho-Hannah Menzner

Hannah's presentation in her gown was what did it for me. She worked it nicely similarly to Wisconsin's Bishara Dorre did at Miss USA earlier this year. Hannah also has a great body and her close-up showed that she is very focused and looks like she is taking this very seriously so I respect that and am giving her a spot in my list.

Utah-Savannah Lancaster

Savannah also has a great body, gown and overall look and her close-up video was very appealing also so hopefully she will pull off a placement for Utah after they were shockingly left out at Miss USA earlier this year.

Texas-Kellie Stewart

Texas' track record at Miss Teen USA has plummeted. After 2005, Texas has placed only once at Miss Teen USA and that was Danielle Doty who went all the way to win the crown in 2011. This is surprising for the state that has the most Miss USAs and is known worldwide as an extremely competitive pageant state. So will Kellie be the latest victim of this trend? Kellie has a strong interview skills as a lot of the past Texas titleholders also had and she is tall which works at the Miss level but not necessarily at the Teen level so that may work against her so that's why I putting her a little lower on my list as while I think she is a worthy semifinalist, there seems to be something working against Texas at Miss Teen USA for whatever reason so I'm a little unsure.

California-Bianca Vierra

Bianca did have a close-up video so I think interview could save her but I wish she had gone with a better gown. Still, she does have a good body and overall look and she represents a strong state so we shall if she does pull it off.

ALTERNATES:

Maryland-Mariela Pepin

This is another one that could place and was also in and out of my list many times but she fell to alternates level. I didn't particularly like the bow on the back of her gown and her look might be deemed a smidge sultry for Teen but I have a feeling she might place but I don't know who to take out of my list so we'll see how she does.

Ohio-Emma Rofkar

Emma stood out in her close-up video but I wasn't fully getting that positive vibe from her but she is another one that could be up there.

Virginia-Olivia Fletcher

I think her performance was good but not necessarily outstanding but she could still be up there. This was one this in and out of my list so many times so we'll see if I made the right decision to put her as an alternate.

Alabama-Baskin Champion

This is another one that could place but her look in preliminaries was a smidge questionable with the high ponytail and the two-piece gown. Her body is decent so she is another that was in and out of my list but ended up as an alternate but she could place.

Kentucky-Megan Ducharm

She mentioned in her close-up video that her mother passed away which could pull some heartstrings so I was watching her closely in preliminaries and she didn't quite present on stage as securely as I was looking for so she also ended up as an alternate but she could also place.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Nebraska-Savannah Rave

I wouldn't be surprised to see Nebraska place as she does have a decent overall look and I really liked her cornflower blue gown so she could be up there but there just wasn't enough room!

North Carolina-Pammy Peters

This one is also very fit but I'm just not getting semifinalist vibe from her. Her gown was interesting as it looked like a variation of the one Tennessee wore at Miss USA earlier this year during preliminaries.

Indiana-Zoe Parker

Zoe's certainly pretty but I'm not sure that she will win the judges over so we'll see what happens.

Nueva Jersey-Valentina Sanchez

Yo penso que Valentina es muy espectacular! However, her look is likely going to be deemed too processed for Miss Teen USA. Valentina held a Teen Model Venezuela title so she might be more suited for the Miss stage rather than Teen.

Tennessee-Morgan Moseley

I liked the flowiness of her gown but her performance in preliminaries just didn't seem particularly outstanding and I expect more from the Tennessee Teen as this state has done quite well at Miss Teen USA over the years.

Some comments on the gowns. There were too many green and red gowns this year and I entirely blame this year's top 2 at Miss USA, Nia Sanchez and Audra Mari for this trend! To me, bows on the back of the gown are more child pageant than teen pageant and two piece gowns seem to be in this year also but they conveniently cover the navel but even then they come across as more costumey and risqué to me but we shall see how these ladies do tonight and what makes it to the semifinals stage!

Watch the webcast for Miss Teen USA 2014 on August 2 at 5 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) / 8 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) at www.missteenusa.com

PREPARE FOR PRELIMINARIES! (August 1, 2014)

Who will succeed Cassidy Wolf and be crowned Miss Teen USA 2014?? This year's event is being held again at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas.
Preliminaries will be held tonight, Friday, August 1 at 5 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) / 8 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) and can bviewed at www.missteenusa.com

After watching preliminaries, I will finalize my predictions and post them on the morning of August 2 and the final competition will be held on Saturday, August 2 at 5 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) / 8 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) and the webcast will be available at www.missteenusa.com



The delegates' close up videos are online so it would be a good idea to go through them to get a feel of each one's personality and then pick your favorites!

Click here to view the delegate close up videos online.