Miss America 2010

Miss America 2010, the 83rd Miss America pageant, was held on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada at the Theatre for the Performing Arts of Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino on Saturday, January 30, 2010.^[1] Miss America 2009, Katie Stam from Indiana, crowned her successor, Caressa Cameron from Virginia, at the end of the event.^[3]

Miss America 2010
Miss America 2010, Caressa Cameron, in 2010
Date	January 30, 2010[1]
Presenters	Mario Lopez[2]
Venue	Theatre for the Performing Arts, Las Vegas, Nevada
Broadcaster	TLC
Entrants	53
Placements	15
Returns	Puerto Rico[1]
Winner	Caressa Cameron Virginia
← 2009 2011 →

Contestants from all 50 states along with District of Columbia, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico^[1] competed for the prestigious title. The pageant was broadcast live on TLC. This edition was the 5th year that Las Vegas hosted the pageant.

Fifteen contestants were selected as finalists. After competing in swimsuit, the judges selected the top 12, and three are eliminated. After competing evening gown, ten were selected to compete in talent, and two are eliminated. Then, three are eliminated and seven were selected prior to the final interview. At the end of the competition, the four runners-up were announced first, followed by the new Miss America winner.

Judges

The seven judges for the competition were:^[4]

• actress and producer, Vivica A. Fox
• Miss America 2002, Katie Harman
• Olympic gymnast, Shawn Johnson
• musician, Dave Koz
• radio personality, Rush Limbaugh
• comedian and actor, Paul Rodriguez

Results

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss America 2010	Virginia – Caressa Cameron[3]
1st Runner-Up	California – Kristy Cavinder
2nd Runner-Up	Tennessee – Stefanie Wittler
3rd Runner-Up	Louisiana – Katherine Putnam
4th Runner-Up	Kentucky – Mallory Ervin *
Top 7	Hawaii – Raeceen Woolford New Mexico – Nicole Miner
Top 10	District of Columbia – Jen Corey Nebraska – Brittany Jeffers Texas – Kristen Blair
Top 12	Colorado – Katie Layman Oklahoma – Taylor Treat*
Top 15	Arkansas – Sarah Slocum* Indiana – Nicole Pollard Oregon – CC Barber **

* - Selected by America's vote from the Miss America pre-pageant special, Miss America: Behind the Curtain. ** - For the first time in pageant history, after 14 finalists were selected, contestant was voted by her fellow competitors as the 15th finalist among the remaining 39 non-finalists.

Awards

Preliminary awards

Awards	Contestant
Lifestyle and Fitness	New York - Alyse Zwick Oregon - CC Barber Puerto Rico - Miriam Pabón
Talent	California - Kristy Cavinder Michigan - Nicole Blaszczyk Virginia - Caressa Cameron

Quality of Life award

Results	Contestant	Platform
Winner	Oklahoma - Taylor Treat	Service Learning
1st runner-up	New Hampshire - Lindsey Graham	-
2nd runner-up	Nevada - Christina Keegan	-
Finalists	Alabama - Liz Cochran Iowa - Anne Langguth Kentucky - Mallory Ervin Minnesota - Brooke Kilgarriff Missouri - Tara Osseck Montana - Brittany Wiser Tennessee - Stefanie Wittler	Various

Other awards

Awards	Contestant
Miss Congeniality	Hawaii - Raeceen Woolford
Dr. & Mrs. David B. Allman Scholarship	Pennsylvania - Shannon Doyle[5]
Non-finalist Talent	Iowa - Anne Langguth Maine - Susie Stauble Michigan - Nicole Blaszczyk Minnesota - Brooke Kilgarriff Rhode Island - Julianna Strout

musician, Brooke White

Contestants

State/district/terr.	Name	Hometown	Age	Talent	Placement	Awards	Notes
Alabama	Liz Cochran[6]	Helena	21	Contemporary Jazz Dance		Quality of Life Award Finalist
Alaska	Sydnee Waggoner[7]	Anchorage	23	Operatic Vocal
Arizona	Savanna Troupe	Phoenix	23	Baton Twirling
Arkansas	Sarah Slocum	Sheridan	23	Vocal	Top 15	America's Choice
California	Kristy Cavinder	Orange	21	Ballet en Pointe	1st runner-up	Preliminary Talent Award
Colorado	Katie Layman	Aurora	23	Contemporary Lyrical Dance	Top 12
Connecticut	Sharalynn Kuziak	Southington	22	Theatrical Tap Dance
Delaware	Heather Lehman	Magnolia	20	Classical Opera
District of Columbia	Jen Corey	Washington, D.C.	22	Operatic Vocal	Top 10		Contestant at National Sweetheart 2008 pageant
Florida	Rachael Todd[8]	Oviedo	22	Irish Step Dance
Georgia	Emily Cook[9]	Marietta	22	Oboe
Hawaii	Raeceen Woolford	Honolulu	24	Hula	Top 7	Miss Congeniality
Idaho	Kara Jackson	Nampa	22	Viola
Illinois	Erin O'Connor	Evergreen Park	20	Ballet en Pointe
Indiana	Nicole Lynn Pollard	Lafayette	23	Broadway Vocal	Top 15
Iowa	Anne Michael Langguth	Iowa City	22	Violin		Non-finalist Talent Award Quality of Life Finalist Award	Top 10 at National Sweetheart 2008 pageant
Kansas	Becki Ronen	Hutchinson	21	Classical Trumpet
Kentucky	Mallory Ervin[10]	Morganfield	24	Vocal	4th runner-up	America's Choice Quality of Life Award Finalist	Contestant on The Amazing Race 17, 18, and 24
Louisiana	Katherine Putnam[11]	Shreveport	23	Piano	3rd runner-up	CMN Miracle Maker Award
Maine	Susanna Stauble	Gray	22	Vocal		Non-finalist Talent Award
Maryland	Brooke Poklemba[12]	Westminster	24	Vocal
Massachusetts	Amanda Kelly	Braintree	23	Vocal			Sister of Miss Massachusetts USA 2006, Tiffany Kelly Contestant at National Sweetheart 2008 pageant
Michigan	Nicole Blaszczyk	Novi	22	Lyrical Dance		Non-finalist Talent Award Preliminary Talent Award
Minnesota	Brooke Kelly Kilgarriff	Eagan	20	Vocal		Non-finalist Talent Award Quality of Life Award Finalist
Mississippi	Anna Tadlock	Brandon	23	Vocal
Missouri	Tara Osseck[13]	St. Charles	23	Tap Dance		Quality of Life Award Finalist
Montana	Brittany Wiser[14]	Bozeman	21	Vocal		Quality of Life Award Finalist	Later Miss Montana USA 2011[15]
Nebraska	Brittany Jeffers	Ogallala	23	Broadway Style Jazz Dance	Top 10		Top 10 at National Sweetheart 2007 pageant
Nevada	Christina Keegan[16]	Gardnerville	24	Contemporary Ballet en Pointe		Quality of Life Award 2nd runner-up
New Hampshire	Lindsey Graham	Sandown	22	Vocal / Piano		Quality of Life Award 1st runner-up
New Jersey	Ashley Shaffer[17]	Perrineville	22	Classical Vocal
New Mexico	Nicole Miner	Albuquerque	23	Vocal	Top 7		Contestant at National Sweetheart 2008 pageant
New York	Alyse Zwick	Scarsdale	24	Ballet en Pointe		Preliminary Swimsuit Award
North Carolina	Katherine Elizabeth Southard	Matthews	23	Ballet en Pointe
North Dakota	Katie Ralston	Carrington	22	Musical Theatre Vocal
Ohio	Erica Gelhaus	St. Henry	21	Classical Vocal / Opera			Previously National Sweetheart 2007[citation needed]
Oklahoma	Taylor Treat	Ada	22	Ballet en Pointe	Top 12	America's Choice Quality of Life Award
Oregon	CC Barber[18]	Scappoose	23	Dance	Top 15	Contestants' Choice Preliminary Swimsuit Award	Contestant at National Sweetheart 2006 pageant
Pennsylvania	Shannon Doyle[19]	Wilkes-Barre	24	Tap Dance		Dr. & Mrs. David B. Allman Scholarship
Puerto Rico	Miriam Pabón	Las Piedras	24	Vocal		Preliminary Swimsuit Award	3rd runner-up at Miss World Puerto Rico 2008 pageant[citation needed] Top 12 at Miss International 2008 pageant[citation needed]
Rhode Island	Julianna Claire Strout	Watch Hill	24	Vocal		Non-finalist Talent Award
South Carolina	Kelly Sloan[20]	Gray Court	24	Vocal
South Dakota	Morgan Peck[21]	Sioux Falls	20	Vocal
Tennessee	Stefanie Wittler[22]	Soddy-Daisy	22	Vocal	2nd runner-up	Quality of Life Award Finalist
Texas	Kristen Blair	Southlake	22	Classical Vocal	Top 10
Utah	Whitney Merrifield	Lindon	19	Classical Piano
Vermont	Laura Hall	South Burlington	22	Musical Theater Dance
Virgin Islands	Shayla Solomon	Saint Thomas	24	Steel Pan Drums
Virginia	Caressa Cameron	Fredericksburg	22	Vocal	Miss America 2010[3]	Preliminary Talent Award	4th runner-up at National Sweetheart 2006 pageant
Washington	Devanni Partridge	Auburn	21	Piano
West Virginia	Talia Rochelle Markham	Ripley	22	Vocal
Wisconsin	Kristina Smaby	Holmen	22	Dance en Pointe
Wyoming	Anna Nelson	Rock Springs	19	Character Pointe Dance