Menu
Chloe Bartlett steps into spotlight at Miss Missouri Teen USA pageant
Nevada Daily Mail
A new Miss Missouri Teen USA will be crowned Sunday in St. Louis, and Nevada High School senior Chloe Bartlett hopes to be the last pageant contestant standing.
Bartlett, 17, of Liberal, said she has been training since March in preparation of the upcoming event. She said her training includes: Waking up at 5:30 a.m. every morning for a 30 minute run; an hour of weightlifting, and an hour of cardio each day after school.
"I've done a lot of physical fitness to get ready for the competition," Bartlett said.
Bartlett added that other aspects of her training regimen include eating healthy and keeping apprised of current events, as the pageant competition includes an interview with judges.
" I've worked on interviewing with an interview coach," she said.
Bartlett, who already holds "America's U.S. Teen 2015" national title, said she has been heavily focused on another important pageant component.
"Just getting that walk down," Bartlett said, "because this is Miss Missouri Teen USA, and you have to do more of a modeling walk (than other pageant competitions)."
Previously, Bartlett was competing under the Miss Teen America pageant system, but has now made the switch to Miss Teen USA pageants. Bartlett said there are major differences between the two. The Miss America system, for example, had talent components, such as singing or dancing, whereas Miss USA is geared more towards modeling and fashion.
"I will compete in athletic wear and evening gown," Bartlett said, "and then I will have a personal interview with every judge."
According to www.missmissouriusa.com, for the swimsuit (athletic wear) portion of the contest, "each contestant is evaluated on her physical fitness, stage-presence, and overall impression. For the evening gown portion, (contestants are) evaluated on grace, style, stage-presence, the confidence with which she carries herself, and overall impression."
The interview section of the contest consists of a four-minute interview with each of the five judges, with contestants "scored in their interview skills and personality."
"You have no idea what the questions are going to be," Bartlett said, "so you have to prepare for that pretty hard."
Bartlett certainly has the pedigree, as her mother Lori was crowned Miss Missouri USA 1990. Chloe said her mother has helped her immensely in her preparation for the grand stage.
"She has the experience and the knowledge," Chloe said. "She's taught me all the tricks, with interviewing and walking. I wouldn't be anywhere without her. She's my main coach. She's really helped me and I think it's an advantage I do have."
Only five of the 64 contestants will make the final cut. According to www.missmissouriusa.com, "The top 5 will then each have an on-stage interview. The interview will be conducted by the emcee (who) will ask them several questions about their bio, or topics related to their bio. The interview will end with one randomly selected question unrelated to their bio, and submitted prior to the show by either the panel of judges or the contestants.
"After the top-5 interviews, the judges will make the final rankings based on their overall impression of each contestant. The judges will select a winner, first runner-up, second runner-up, third runner-up, and fourth runner-up in each age group."
Bartlett said she is ready for the challenge.
"This is the most competitive pageant I've ever competed in," she said. "The pageant coaches I've talked to said this is one of the top five to top 10 hardest state pageants in America to win. The top five from last year are returning.
"It's going to be hard, but I'm going to give it all I've got. I'm excited and looking forward to it." Bartlett noted that once the competition begins, any contact with family members or friends results in automatic disqualification.
"It's pretty intense," she said. "You have long days, a 12-hour rehearsal, and then have to perform that evening."
If Bartlett wins she will then advance to nationals, where she will compete for the title of Miss Teen USA. The next step after that is the highest possible stage, Miss Teen Universe.
"I'm very thankful for all my family support and the community support I've received," Bartlett said.
Bartlett is currently signed with a Kansas City based modeling agency.
Online viewing
Sunday's Miss Teen USA Finals can be viewed on pageantvison.com. Further details can be found on the site.
Previous accolades
America's U.S. Teen 2015 title, with the event held in Clearwater, Fla. Bartlett, competing as the Miss Missouri Teen against other contestants from across the U.S., also won the Best Interview, Best Personality, and Most Promising Model.
Winner of four optional events at America's U.S. Teen pageant, and is the (2015) National Runway, National Sportswear, National Spokes-model Speech title holder, and the National Crown Cover Model. In addition to those titles she was first runner-up in Actress, Swimsuit, Photogenic, and Top Model Portfolio at the America's U.S. Teen pageant.
Bartlett's parents are Brent and Lori, and she has an older sister Mikayla.