CHESLIE KRYST, 28, IS MISS USA 2019 / CREDIT: MISS UNIVERSE ORGANIZATION
So it seems that Cheslie Kryst, at 28, is the oldest contestant to be crowned as Miss USA. The North Carolina native won the coveted title on May 2nd in Reno, Nevada.
The average age of Top 15 semi-finalists is 24. The youngest semi-finalist is Hawaii at 20 years of age. The average age of the top 5 is 26. It seems that crowning “older” girls (to me, anyone above 24) has been the trend since Olivia Jordan won in 2015 at 26. Deshauna Barber in 2016 at 26. And Kara Cullough In 2017 at 25.
Raising the age limit to 28 allows for “more accomplished” women to compete. But the question is, how could an 18-year old compete with 28-year old when the former hasn’t accomplished much? Could this be the reason why no contestant under the age of 20 cracked the semifinals? Will the next Miss Universe be 25 or over?
Top 15
Florida - Nicolette Jennings. 22
New Mexico - Alejandra Gonzalez. 26
Arkansas - Savannah Skidmore. 24
Ohio - Alice Magoto. 21
Oklahoma - Triana Browne. 26
Iowa - Baylee Drezek. 21
Minnesota - Cat Stanley. 23
District of Columbia - Cordelia Cranshaw. 26
Louisiana - Victoria Paul. 26
North Carolina - Cheslie Kryst. 28
Kansas - Alyssa Klinzing. 21
Pennsylvania - Kailyn Marie Perez. 27
Maryland - Mariela Pepin. 23
Hawaii - Lacie Choy. 20
Nevada - Tianna Tuamoheloa. 26
By Rafa Delfin, 5/3/2019