Miss Mississippi Teen USA Addie Carver was crowned Miss Teen USA Thursday.

The field of 51 candidates was first narrowed during the live broadcast Thursday night to the Top 20 — Nebraska, Illinois, District of Columbia, Maryland, Texas, South Dakota, Alabama, Kansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Arkansas, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, West Virginia, Rhode Island, Utah, Arizona, Montana, and New York.

The Top 20 were selected primarily due to scores from preliminary competitions in which all 51 contestants participated.

After the Top 20 were named live near the beginning of the televised event, each contestant walked across the stage in active wear consisting of a sports tank top, black exercise pants and white athletic shoes. Contestants were judged based on criteria such as fitness and stage presence.

The contestants participated in a state-pride costume contest, recorded earlier. Clips from the event showed Carver’s costume was black and featured wings and a crown.

Next, the hosts announced the judges’ picks for Top 10, who move on to the evening gown portion. They were, in order announced: Arizona, Alabama, West Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kansas, Maryland, Arkansas, Georgia, and Illinois.

Carver wore a white gown with gold accents in the evening gown competition, after which judges narrowed the field down to the Top 5.

The top five were: West Virginia’s Olivia Travis, Tennessee’s Townsend Blackwell, Georgia’s Ava Colindres, Arizona’s Rachael Mclaen, and Mississippi’s Addie Carver.

Each teen was asked one interview question, which they had to answer live in 30 seconds or less: What is the biggest challenge facing young people today, and how do we overcome it?

Carver said the biggest challenge was mental health.

“When I was just 13, my dad passed away from cancer. As you can imagine, that was not easy and my mental health struggled severely. But I was able to find hope again, and that was through the art of dance,” she said. “Which is why I created my own organization, called Dance to Empower, which is founded on bringing the joy of dance to everyone; and as the next Miss Teen USA, I want to make it my mission to know that every little girl who is just like me once is never alone”

During the “final look” walk of the Top 5 across the stage, video vignettes were shown from each contestant about what Miss Teen USA meant to them. During her time, Carver said this experience would change her life, and that’s exactly what she wanted to use the platform to do — change lives, “showing everyone that no matter what challenges you may face in your life, the sky is never the limit — it’s just the starting point.”

The final results were announced with the runners-up first, followed by the 2024 Miss Teen USA.

Fourth runner-up was West Virginia; third was Tennessee; second was Arizona; first runner-up was Georgia, and Carver was crowned Miss Teen USA.

She mouthed, “Thank you, God!” as she was crowned, and tearfully waved as she took her victory walk.