Miss USA 1991 (Jayverse)

Miss USA 1991, the 40th Miss USA pageant, was televised live from the Century II Convention Center in Wichita, Kansas on February 22, 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 in which the pageant is aired on UBC (in the United States), CTV (in Canada) and simulcasted on Rhythm Radio and Syndicated to Radio Stations in the USA and Canada.

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

This year was the first time that introduced the delegates in region by region and one by one in the Parade of States. The regions are The Midwest, The South, The Northeast, The Northwest, and The Southwest.

This year was also the last year that the 1st Runner-Up would go onto represent the US at Miss World as the Miss World Organization from this point forward stop accepting 1st Runner-Ups from Miss USA due to the pageant not making a public announcement that the 1st Runner-Up was going to compete at Miss World. Starting in 1992, a separate pageant would be held to determine the US delegate for Miss World.

Historical significance

 * Kansas wins competition for the first time and surpasses its previous highest placement in 1973. Also becoming in the 24th state who does it for the first time.
 * New Jersey earns the 1st runner-up position for the first time and surpasses its previous highest placement from the previous year, becoming its highest placement of the state.
 * California earns the 2nd runner-up position for the second time. The last time it placed this was in 1972.
 * Illinois finishes as Top 6 for the first time and reaches its highest placement since 1985.
 * Oklahoma finishes as Top 6 for the first time.
 * North Carolina finishes as Top 6 for the first time and reaches its highest placement since 1975.
 * States that placed in semifinals the previous year were Illinois and New Jersey.
 * Illinois placed for the eighth consecutive year.
 * New Jersey placed for the third consecutive year.
 * Arizona, California and Oklahoma last placed in 1989.
 * North Carolina last placed in 1986.
 * Hawaii last placed in 1985.
 * Oregon last placed in 1984.
 * New York last placed in 1983.
 * Alabama last placed in 1981.
 * Kansas last placed in 1973.
 * Georgia breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1986.
 * Texas breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1975.
 * The national anthem starts the show as a preamble to the pageant, honoring the United States Armed Forces.

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

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 Digmon
 * 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
 * Delegates who would go onto compete at the Miss World America pageant:
 * Maricarroll Verlinde (Arizona) - Miss Arizona World 1992
 * Lori Easley (Idaho) - Miss Idaho World 1992
 * Laura Wheeler (Massachusetts) - Miss Massachusetts World 1992
 * Jillayne Fossum (South Dakota) - Miss South Dakota World 1992
 * Krista Ransbottom (West Virginia) - Miss West Virginia World 1992

Judges

 * Lynn Swann - Former Pittsburgh Steeler WR
 * Sheila Manning
 * Lorianne Crook
 * Don Crichton
 * Ray Murray - Host of Evening Magazine on UBC Affiliate KYW in Philadelphia, PA
 * Sharyn Skeeter
 * Joe Walsh
 * C. Howard Wilkins, Jr.
 * Adrienne Barbeau - Broadway Actress