Miss Teen USA 1998, the 16th Miss Teen USA pageant, was televised live from Shreveport, Louisiana on 17 August, 1998. At the conclusion of the final competition, Vanessa Minnillo of South Carolina was crowned by outgoing queen Shelly Moore of Tennessee.

Results

Placements

Map showing placements by state

• Miss Teen USA 1998: Vanessa Minnillo (South Carolina)
• The runners-up were:
  • 1st runner-up: Bridgett Jordan (Tennessee)
  • 2nd runner-up: Victoria Franklin (Nevada)

• The other top five finalists were (in order of placement): Gina DeBernardi (Wyoming), Misty Horn (Virginia)

• The remaining semi-finalists were (in order of placement): Christie Cole (Texas), Nicole Broderick (Florida), Nicole Manske (Illinois), Jennifer Reel (Mississippi), Katee Doland (Colorado)

Special awards

• Miss Congeniality: Vanessa Minnillo (South Carolina)
• Miss Photogenic: Nicole Broderick (Florida)
• Style Award: Susie Castillo (Massachusetts)
• Best in Swimsuit: Vanessa Minnillo (South Carolina)

Scores

Historical significance

• This was only Wyoming's second placement, after Emily Earnst placed first runner-up to Kelly Hu in 1985.
• Nevada placed for the first time since 1983, this was also only their second placement. No other Nevada teen has bettered Victoria Franklin's placement, although Helen Salas equalled it when she placed second runner-up at Miss Teen USA 2004. Franklin was Miss Nevada USA at the time, Salas' sister titleholder.
• Mississippi placed for the first time since 1994.
• Vanessa Minillo became the first Miss Congeniality winner to also win the pageant. She also got the highest score ever in any semifinal: 9.96 in swimsuit.
• Florida won the Miss Photogenic award for the third consecutive year, a first in the history of the pageant. Nicole Broderick was Florida's first semi-finalist since 1995, and no other Florida teen would place until Jennifer Wooten made the top fifteen at Miss Teen USA 2006.

Delegates

• Alabama - Heather Baugh
• Alaska - Sarah Ann Smith
• Arizona - Kristy Kay Stover
• Arkansas - Joan Lucas
• California - Amanda Joy O’Leary
• Colorado - Katee Doland
• Connecticut - Natalie Perez
• Delaware - Nicole Tomlin
• District of Columbia - Chartese DeQuinta Day
• Florida - Nicole Broderick
• Georgia - Midori Thompson
• Hawaii - Toby Anne Pohaikealoha Carter
• Idaho - Elizabeth Barchas
• Illinois - Nicole Manske
• Indiana - Tashina Kastigar
• Iowa - Arianna Kem
• Kansas - Ashley Tessendorf
• Kentucky - Elizabeth Arnold
• Louisiana - Jennifer Dupont
• Maine - Krista Wakefield
• Maryland - Amber Coffman
• Massachusetts - Susie Castillo
• Michigan - Elizabeth Mathis
• Minnesota - Kristi Renee Hilgenberg
• Mississippi - Jennifer Reel
• Missouri - Brittany McDonald

• Montana - Maggie Stoker
• Nebraska - Lori Anderson
• Nevada - Victoria Franklin
• New Hampshire - Nadiyah Humber
• New Jersey - Melissa Dungao
• New Mexico - Rana Jones
• New York - Lindsay Fredette
• North Carolina - Lucy Parker
• North Dakota - Brandy Smolen
• Ohio - Stacy Offenberger
• Oklahoma - Tara Baker
• Oregon - Melissa Maki
• Pennsylvania - Katherine Kraus
• Rhode Island - Kristin Luneberg
• South Carolina - Vanessa Minnillo
• South Dakota - Summer Simunek
• Tennessee - Bridgett Jordan
• Texas - Christie Cole
• Utah - Trina Seymour
• Vermont - Dawn Amelia Carrow
• Virginia - Misty Horn
• Washington - Amber Lancaster
• West Virginia - Erica Bivans
• Wisconsin - Heidi Alderson
• Wyoming - Gina DeBernardi

Contestant notes

• Susie Castillo (Massachusetts) went on to win the Miss Massachusetts USA 2003 title, and then won the Miss USA 2003 pageant.
• Three of the six triple crown titleholders competed at Miss Teen USA 1998. These women held state titles for Miss Teen USA, Miss USA and Miss America.
  • Only a year after passing on her Teen title, Jennifer Dupont (Louisiana) won the Miss Louisiana USA 2000 title, one of the few women to win teen and Miss titles in such close succession. Dupont went on to win the Miss Louisiana 2004 title, and placed first runner-up to Deidre Downs at Miss America 2005.
• Katee Doland (Colorado) won the Miss Colorado USA 2001 title, and won the Miss Photogenic award at Miss USA 2001. She later became Miss Colorado 2003.
• Elizabeth Barchas (Idaho) won the Miss Idaho USA 2001 title, and competed with Doland at Miss USA 2001. As Miss Idaho 2004 she competed at Miss America 2005 alongside Jennifer Dupont, and won a non-finalist interview award
• Rana Jones (New Mexico) later won the Miss New Mexico 2003 title and competed in the Miss America pageant. She later tried to win the Miss New Mexico USA title but was unsuccessful. Her highest placement at Miss New Mexico USA was in the 2007 event, when she placed first runner-up at Casey Messer.
• Other contestants who competed at Miss USA were:
  • Elizabeth Arnold (Kentucky) - Miss Kentucky USA 2002
  • Kristen Luneberg (Rhode Island) - Miss North Carolina USA 2003
  • Tashina Kastigar (Indiana) - Miss Indiana USA 2003 (semi-finalist at Miss USA 2003)
  • Victoria Franklin (Nevada) - Miss Nevada USA 2004
  • Stacy Offenberger (Ohio) - Miss Ohio USA 2006 (third runner-up at Miss USA 2006)
• Rachel Boston (Tennessee) later became a successful actress.
  • Amber Lancaster (Washington) is currently a model of The Price Is Right

Trivia

• Vanessa Minnillo and Mario Lopez would later host together the 2007 Miss Universe pageant

External links

• Official website