THE PRETHOUGHTS

THE RESULTS (August 22, 2015)

Louisiana shortly after hosting the 2015 Miss USA pageant last month was richly rewarded with its second Miss Teen USA crown thanks to 15-year-old Katherine Haik who wowed the judges with her ability to name all the American presidents in order from George Washington to Barack Obama as demonstrated on stage in a song. Louisiana's first Miss Teen USA crown was won in 2004 by Shelley Hennig. Louisiana has also hosted some of the most memorable Miss Teen USA pageants in the past so the glory returns to the crawfish state once again. In terms of my predictions this year, I picked 11 of the 15 semifinalists plus 2 alternates (Oklahoma and Alabama) and 1 honorable mention (Massachusetts). The one I missed entirely was New York who literally was the next delegate in my tier below honorable mentions. However, what disturbed me the most was that my winner, the absolutely stunning and well-spoken Caroline Ford of Kentucky was inexplicably excluded from the semifinals which was beyond shocking. Let's not forget beauty, people. The other 3 of my picks that were excluded were: Maryland, Ohio and Nevada.

Katherine is also the second Katherine in a row to win Miss Teen USA as the 2014 winner, K. Lee Graham's full name is Katherine Lee Graham.

I will be posting my full commentary on Miss Teen USA 2015 on Friday, August 28.

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THE PREDICTIONS (August 22, 2015)

Who will wear the new DIC crown for Miss Teen USA?
After watching preliminaries and the close up videos of each delegate, I have now come up with my final predictions for Miss Teen USA 2015 and they are as follows!


TOM'S FINAL PREDICTIONS FOR MISS TEEN USA 2015

Winner = Kentucky-Caroline Ford

Sweet Caroline! Good times never seemed so good! This stunning, well-spoken, blue-eyed, blonde beauty is definitely one to keep an eye on. Caroline is easily the face of this year's pageant and I would not be one bit surprised to see her take it all. The bluegrass state has never won the Miss Teen USA title but their only Miss USA, Tara Conner came close in 2002 when she placed as 2nd runner up. Caroline would be a phenomenal Miss Teen USA and I really hope she takes it all.

1st Runner Up = Vermont-Alexandra Marek

Vermont is a state that rarely places but what a find they have in Alexandra Marek. Not only does she have a great body and overall look but she has a warmth about her that I find endearing and excellent interview skills. This girl has prepared well and I would love to see Vermont make a huge comeback. Their only Miss Teen USA crown went to the much beloved Charlotte Lopez back in 1993 so Alexandra has a very good chance of doing it again for Vermont.

2nd Runner Up = Texas-Chloe Kembel

Chloe does have a similar look to the reigning Miss Teen USA, K. Lee Graham but Chloe's gown presentation was impressive and she is very poised and has a great message about child trafficking which seems to popular amongst a few delegates this year. Texans are always well prepared so I'm looking for Chloe to have a strong showing.

3rd Runner Up = South Carolina-Wesley Mitchell

Wesley actually does remind me of Tara Conner, Miss USA 2006 and South Carolina normally sends strong delegates and Wesley is the latest to add to the list as she has a great body and she worked her bold red gown very well.

4th Runner Up = Maryland-Taylor Dawson

Taylor has impressed me in all facets of the competition. She has excellent interview skills, a fantastic body and her presence in gown was magical. Some say her look reads a little more Miss than Teen but I was actually very pleased with Taylor's overall performance that I think she will get noticed in a big way.

SEMIFINALISTS:

Ohio-Shelby Stapleton

Shelby is a very interesting delegate. For one thing, you can't really tell just by looking at her but she is half-African-American and also at the age of 16, she is already signed with Ford Models. She shows a lot of maturity for her age and speaks well and obviously has the model body so Shelby is one to keep an eye on.

Tennessee-Hannah Greene

Hannah is very tall and striking and she was in my top 5 at one point but fell after gown as I feel that she could have gone with something better and upped her confidence level during her presentation but she is a strong delegate as is normally expected from the Volunteer state so watch for her to do well.

California-Melanie Mitchell

Like Tennessee, California's gown didn't impress me that much but everything else was very good. This gown is very similar to the one Georgia's delegate wore at Miss USA last month and she ended up not placing but I definitely see Melanie placing.

North Carolina-Jane Axhoj

Jane is styled well in addition to having a great body and her gown is decent. The southern states normally prepare their girls well and Jane looks ready for the competition.

Arkansas-Arynn Johnson

Another Southern belle who does have a good head on her shoulders and gives an impressive interview. She is in great shape and her overall look is strong to me.

Louisiana-Katherine Haik

Katherine may only be 15 years old but even though she is one of the youngest, she is also one of the strongest. She has a very nice body and her gown color is one that seems to pop on stage.

Arizona-Neda Danilovic

Neda just has a classy, calm presentation and seems to be a universal favorite on many lists so I had to include her.

Pennsylvania-Jasmine Daniels

Jasmine is one of the few African-American delegates competing this year but she has a glow about her and a very strong, dynamic presence and she has the power to win over the judges in interview also and combined with her fit body and regal gown, Princess Jasmine could do very well in this competition.

Missouri-Christina Stratton

Christina has a distinct look but apart from that, this girl interviews extremely well so I am looking for her to wow the judges and her performance in the preliminaries was actually quite strong as her body in on point with great abs.

Nevada-Geovanna Hilton

Nevada has a strong preparation team and Geovanna does come across as an extremely prepared delegate. She reminds me a lot of Holly Roehl who was 2nd runner up at Miss Teen USA 1990 and a semifinalist at Miss USA 1996. Will Geovanna have a similar placement to Holly?

ALTERNATES:

Oklahoma-Cherokee Pearce

Cherokee is a decent looking delegate and it is interesting that she is part Native American and part Irish but I wanted to see more polish and a stronger interview coming from her as I felt she could have presented somewhat better in her close up interview but she could be up there.

Alabama-Taylor Ryan Elliott

I like Taylor's gown and she has a decent body but I'm getting a just-okay vibe somehow but still she could place.

Georgia-Mary Calkins

She could also be up there but I think she did a decent job but perhaps not strong enough for the semifinals but we shall see how she does.

Colorado-Taylor Kelly

Taylor has a decent body and overall look so she is also a possibility but I didn't feel strongly enough about her to put her in.

Michigan-Maria Rendina

Maria is a bit of an intriguing delegate as something about her stands out but I'm not totally sure about her but she also could get a spot.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Nebraska-Chloe Pflueger

I love Chloe's gown and she has a decent overall look but her manner of speaking needs more polish.

Alaska-Katelyn Cusack

Alaska rarely places but this year's delegate looked a bit promising but seems like she could use a bit more refinement so it may not happen this year.

Rhode Island-Mary Malloy

Mary doesn't come across as too overdone and just naturally sweet and subtle which is actually a rare quality and the judges could be drawn to that so she is a wildcard delegate.

Florida-Jara Courson

I want to see a lot more energy from her so even though she has decent interview skills and overall look, I'm not feeling that power coming from her in this competition.

Massachusetts-Sophie Baird

Sophie is one that is favored by others but I don't really see it so I decided to give her the last spot in my honorable mentions list.

So there you have it! Another year with another list so let's see how it goes this time around and we'll find out who I got right or who I missed entirely!

Watch the webcast for Miss Teen USA tonight (August 22 at 5 pm Pacific Standard Time / 8 pm Eastern Standard Time) at www.missuniverse.com/missteenusa

PREPARE FOR PRELIMINARIES! (August 18, 2015)

Former Miss Universe host Thomas Roberts poses with Miss Teen USA 2014, K. Lee Graham at the Viennese Opera Ball

Who will succeed K. Lee Graham and be crowned Miss Teen USA 2015?? This year's event is being held again at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas.
Preliminaries will be held on Friday, August 21 at 5 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) / 8 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) and the webcast can be viewed at www.missuniverse.com/missteenusa

As of right now, my winner is "Sweet Caroline" herself, Kentucky's Caroline Ford who is an absolutely stunning, well-spoken beauty and has an opportunity to be the bluegrass state's first Miss Teen USA.


After watching preliminaries, I will finalize my predictions and post them on the morning of August 22 and the final competition will be held on Saturday, August 22 at 5 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) / 8 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) and the webcast will be available at www.missuniverse.com/missteenusa



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.






Rest in Peace, Sylvia Hitchcock Carson - Miss Universe 1967


(left)Sylvia Hitchcock Carson, Miss Universe 1967 during the Time magazine photo shoot for the 60th anniversary Miss USA pageant in 2011. (right) Sylvia Hitchcock Carson, Miss Universe 1967 on the cover of the 1968 Miss Universe program book.

Sylvia Hitchcock Carson who won Miss Universe 1967 after winning Miss Alabama USA and Miss USA 1967 tragically lost her battle to cancer on August 16, 2015 which makes Sylvia the third Miss Universe to enter mortality following Sweden's Hillevi Rombin Schine, Miss Universe 1955 who died in a plane crash in 1996 and Spain's Amparo Munoz Quesada, Miss Universe 1974 who also passed away from cancer in 2011. Sylvia was recently seen as one of the former Miss USAs who were honored during the 60th Miss USA pageant held in 2011. Sylvia is Alabama's only Miss USA winner. She would marry William Carson, the inventor of a fruit harvesting machine, in 1970 and the couple has three children and seven grandchildren. May Sylvia rest in peace.