FAVORITES: Miss USA 2022 final Top 16 favorites
Today someone's life is about to change as the Miss USA 2022 pageant culminates tonight at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada.
Fifty-one contestants from across the country have worked diligently to get to the Miss USA final stage but only one of them will become the successor of Elle Smith of Kentucky and represent the USA at the 71st Miss Universe 2022 this January in New Orleans, Louisiana.
An esteemed panel of judges determines who enters the Top 16. Fifteen will be selected based on their interviews, preliminary swimsuit and evening gown competition, and one spot is reserved for a contestant with the highest fan votes on missusa.com.
Who will be the next Miss USA? As we did not have access to their interviews, our list of favorites is based entirely on the contestants' preliminary swimsuit and evening gown performances.
Meet our final favorites (in alphabetical order):
District of Columbia - Faith Porter
Florida - Taylor Fulford
Georgia - Holly Haynes
Illinois - Angel Reyes
Kansas - Elyse Noe
New Jersey - Alexandra Lakhman
New Mexico - Suzanne Perez
North Carolina - Morgan Romano
Ohio - Sir'Quora Carroll
Pennsylvania - Billie LaRaé Owens
Rhode Island - Elaine Collado
Tennessee - Emily Suttle
Texas - R'Bonney Gabriel
Vermont - Kelsey Golonka
Washington - Mazzy Eckel
Special mentions:
Connecticut, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, Wisconsin
Special awards:
Miss Photogenic - Nebraska, Natalie Pieper
Best in Swimsuit - Texas, R'Bonney Gabriel
Best in Evening Gown - North Carolina, Morgan Romano
Don't miss the Miss USA 2022 final show tonight from 5 p.m. PST exclusively on FYI and Hulu.
Photos: Grant Foto / Miss USA