Associated Press
GARY, Ind. — Shauntay Hinton, a broadcast communications major from the District of Columbia, was crowned Miss USA on Friday night.
Hinton, 23, cried and her knees buckled when she was announced the winner. The Howard University student is only the second Miss District of Columbia to win the Miss USA pageant in its 50-year history.
Last year’s winner, former Miss Texas Kandace Krueger, quickly placed the winner’s sash and crown on Hinton, who walked down the catwalk, then returned to the stage and was besieged by the other contestants.
Hinton will compete in the Miss Universe Pageant in May in Puerto Rico.
Lindsay Douglas of Kansas was the first runner-up. She is a 23-year-old waitress and graduate student at the University of Kansas. The other finalists were Kelly Lloyd, 25, of Indiana, Lanore VanBuren, 26, of Minnesota and Alita Hawaah Dawson, 23, of Connecticut.
Twelve semifinalists, instead of the usual 10, were selected Thursday from among the 51 contestant after two weeks of modeling for the pageant’s preliminary-round judges in swimsuits and evening gowns and taking part in interviews.
Two more contestants than usual advanced because of a three-way tie for the final spot, pageant officials said.
The other semifinalists represented Alabama, California, Louisiana, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Texas.
Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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