Miss Teen USA 2022 is Faron Medhi of Nebraska
Faron Medhi, representing the state of Nebraska, was crowned Miss Teen USA 2022 in a glittering competition held on Saturday, October 1 at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada.
The 18-year-old high school graduate and model from Omaha became the first teen representative from Nebraska to win Miss Teen USA since 1983.
Rounding out the Top 5 finalists were first runner-up Jenna Beckstrom of Idaho, second runner-up Cassidy Hill of California, third runner-up Isabella Mosqueda of Michigan, and fourth runner-up McKinley Farese of Tennessee.
Arizona (Maya Denise Gaskin), Florida (Alyssa Khan), Georgia (Courtney Ianna Smith), Hawaii (Malulani Paiste), Iowa (Marisa Mathson), Kansas (Gracie Hendrickson), Nevada (Janae McIntosh), North Carolina (Gabriela Ortega), Ohio (Kylan Darnell), Oklahoma (Haleigh Hurst), and Wisconsin (Sage Gundelly) were the rest of the Top 16 semi-finalists.
Ohio's Kylan Darnell was named Fan Favorite winner while North Carolina's Gabriella Ortega and Nevada's Janae McIntosh bagged Miss Photogenic and Miss Congeniality, respectively.
This year's Miss Teen USA pageant was hosted by Miss USA 2021 Elle Smith of Kentucky and FYI correspondent Christian Murphy.
Former Miss Teen USA winners Keylee Sanders Helmich and Kaliegh Garris were part of the judging panel along with Puerto Rican makeup artist Allan Aponte, American public affairs consultant Bob Hartnagel, chief commercial officer of SeneGence Anita Krpata, and TV host Tanya Memme (former Miss World Canada).
The new Miss Teen USA graduated from Millard North High School where she was active in various clubs. Several weeks after her graduation she won Miss Nebraska Teen USA on March 6 in Omaha. She is expected to attend the Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona this fall to pursue biology. Apart from being a model, she is also a dancer.
Faron received her crown as Miss Teen USA from last year's winner Breanna Myles of Florida.
Meet the new Miss Teen USA: