By Armando

Miss Kansas Teen Hailey Colborn is crowned Miss Teen USA 2018

17-year-old Hailey Colborn from Kansas has been crowned Miss Teen USA, held last night at Hirsch Coliseum in Shreveport-Bossier, Louisiana.

A total of 51 contestants from 50 states and the District of Columbia competed for the crown, which was later narrowed down to top 15 and top 10. In addition to Miss Kansas, rounding out the top 5 were Miss Illinois Teen Sydni-Dion Bennett, Miss Colorado Teen Chloe Zambrano, Miss South Carolina Teen Kirby Elizabeth Self and Miss North Carolina Teen Kaaviya Sambasivam. Miss Congeniality award went to Kennedy Cromeens of Alabama.

Before the show started, Miss Teen USA 2017 Sophia Dominguez-Heithoff gave a heartfelt speech about the Santa Fe High School shooting which happened earlier in the day.

The question and answer portion had an interesting twist this year: to celebrate its 35th anniversary, the top 5 contestants were asked questions that were posed to past winners. The contestants also competed in active wear and in evening gown.

Meanwhile, Miss USA 2018 is set to take lace on Monday, May 21, 2018 at the Hirsch Memorial Coliseum in Shreveport, Louisiana, making it the first time that Miss Teen USA and Miss Teen USA are held concurrently. Miss USA 2018 will be hosted by Vanessa and Nick Lachey.

The 2018 Miss Teen USA was hosted by Cecilio Asuncion and Erin Lim. See some of the photos from the pageant below.

Photos by: aiphotoimaging.com