LAS VEGAS — A 17-year-old from Nebraska became the youngest winner of the Miss America crown in 90 years Saturday after beating 52 other young women from across the United States.
Teresa Scanlan won a $50,000 scholarship and a year-long run with the crown at the competition Saturday night at the Planet Hollywood casino-resort in Las Vegas, giving the Cornhusker State its first-ever win at the pageant.
She was the youngest Miss America since the pageant’s first competition in 1921, when Margaret Gorman of the District of Columbia won at age 15.
Scanlan won after strutting in a black bikini and a white evening gown, playing “White Water Chopped Sticks” on piano and telling the audience that when it comes to WikiLeaks, security should come before public access to government information.
Miss Colorado Melaina Shipwash, 24, of Colorado Springs, was not in the final round of 15.
The pageant celebrated its 90th anniversary this year.
