Nebraska wins Miss Teen USA 2022

Faron Medhi was crowned Miss Teen USA 2022 at the end of the pageant, held on October 1, 2022 at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada. The Nebraska representative beat more than 50 other contestants to succeed Miss Teen USA 2021 Breanna Myles of Florida and is making history by becoming the first teen representative from Nebraska to win Miss Teen USA since 1983, when the Miss Universe Organization launched this contest.

She is the second Nebraska to win the title after Tammy Jo Hopkins who won in 1981. She won the Miss Teen U.S.A title under the leadership of Miss Teen U.S.A., Inc. Tammy Jo Hopkins did not have a full year’s reign as 1981 Miss Teen USA. She relinquished her crown and title to 1980 Miss Teen USA winner Susan McDannold after accepting a print modeling and TV commercial acting representation contract with a top model agency in New York City (as Tammy Hopkins). Miss Universe, Inc. filed a lawsuit on July 18, 1979, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, against the company running the late-1970s version of the pageant, Miss Teen U.S.A., Inc., for trademark infringement over a claimed similarity with its own “Miss U.S.A.” pageant title and some of its related registered trademarks. The lawsuit, Miss Universe, Inc. v. Miss Teen U.S.A., Inc., resulted initially in an injunction being issued on March 25, 1980, ordering Miss Teen U.S.A., Inc. to cease holding future pageants with the name “Miss Teen U.S.A.” so as not to confuse people with the “Miss U.S.A.” pageant. The injunction was appealed but eventually upheld. The court ruling did not invalidate any past Miss Teen USA titleholders.

The 18-year-old newly crowned 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. The native from Ohoma  also works as model and as dancer.

The 2022 Miss Teen USA’s court includes

1st runner-up– Jenna Beckstrom (Idaho)

2nd runner-up – Cassidy Hill (California)

3rd runner-up – Isabella Mosqueda (Michigan)

4th runner-up – McKinley Farese (Tennessee)

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.