The Miss West Virginia competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the U.S. state of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

in the

Miss America Pageant Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

. In the fall of 2018, the Miss America Organization terminated the Miss West Virginia organization's license as well as licenses from

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Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

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, and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. The Miss America Organization reinstated the license to Shelley Nichols-Franklin of Martinsburg who was the former Executive Director of Miss Berkeley County (WV) between 2000 and 2019. Elizabeth Lynch of Martinsburg was crowned Miss West Virginia 2022 on June 25, 2022 at the Airborne Event Center in

Martinsburg, West Virginia Martinsburg is a city in and the seat of Berkeley County, West Virginia, in the tip of the state's Eastern Panhandle region in the lower Shenandoah Valley. Its population was 18,835 in the 2021 census estimate, making it the largest city in the E ...

. She competed for the title of

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

2023 at the

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Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the New England town, town of Montville, Connecticut, Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a Administrative divisions of Connecticut#Village, neighborhood, section of town, village in southeastern Montville, at the ...

in December 2022 where she placed 3rd runner-up.

Results summary

The following is a visual summary of the past results of Miss West Virginia titleholders at the national Miss America pageants/competitions. The year in parentheses indicates the year of the national competition during which a placement and/or award was garnered, not the year attached to the contestant's state title.

Placements

* 2nd runners-up: Ella Dee Kessel (1965) * 3rd runners-up: Elizabeth Lynch (2023) * Top 10: Deborah Davis (1980), Danae DeMasi (2002) * Top 15: Lillian Ward (1927), Juanita Park Wright (1940), Joan Elizabeth Estep (1947), Phyllis Walker (1952), Chelsea Malone (2016) * Top 16: Norma Lee Salisbury (1946) * Top 18: Mildred Fetty (1933)

Awards

Preliminary awards

* Preliminary Evening Gown: Danae DeMasi (2002) * Preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness: Ella Dee Kessel (1965), Cynthia Sims (1994)

Non-finalist awards

* Non-finalist Interview: Leah Lasker (1992) * Non-finalist Talent: Karen Childers (1964), Lois Gay Ratcliff (1966), Judith Shoup (1970), Mary Derry (1975), Patricia Paugh (1978), Kari Safford (1997), Paige Madden (2015)

Other awards

* Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award: Morgan Breeden (2016) * Fruit of the Loom Award: Melissa Costello (1991)

Results summary

Placements

Awards

Preliminary awards

Non-finalist awards

Other awards

Winners

References

External links