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Keeping things livelyJessica Myers modeled when she was young, but she stayed away from pageants for years. For one thing, she considered herself a "nerd." Besides that, she was a little bit afraid. "I always expected the girls to be so hateful," she says. "But when I started competing, it was not what I expected at all. Now a lot of my friends are other pageant girls." Ms. Myers didn't win her first pageant, but she came back, and in late 2000 she won the Miss Tennessee Teen USA crown. That's an accomplishment. | 
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| In the past few years, the Volunteer State has consistently been one of the strongest in the pageant world. She comes from the Tennessee of the travel posters, a mountain town a few minutes away from Smoky Mountains National Park. But even with such scenic surroundings, she wants to see other parts of the world. One of the things that excited her most about competing on South Padre Island was the chance to cross over into Mexico. "I've never been out of the country before." Ms. Myers not only likes new places, she likes new things. That's why she's planning to become a physician. "There's something different every day" in medicine, she says. "It keeps your brain on the move." |
Among friendsThe Miss Teen USA Pageant was held on South Padre Island in 1997, so this year's contest is something of a homecoming. But it's more like a family reunion to the people of the island. They have offered their own welcome, not slick or artificial, but warm and comfortable, to a group of girls who are old enough to turn heads but still young enough to think pageants ought to be fun. |
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 | A funny thing happened on the way to . . .She was born Elizabeth Rollins Albritton, but call her Rollins. That's what everybody calls her. That's who she is. The name may seem a little unusual to strangers, but for Miss Alabama Teen USA, it's a source of pride. In the Deep South, there is a long tradition of giving a female child a "family name" that recalls her roots. Rollins, for instance, was the maiden name of Ms. Albritton's great-grandmother. Such names carry an air of distinction. |
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| In recent years, more and more Americans have embraced this Southern practice. "Taylor" and "Morgan" once sounded like strange monikers for little girls, but now you hear them all over. Ms. Albritton grew up in southern Alabama, wanting to be the national winner at America's Junior Miss. That venerable competition, which is based in nearby Mobile, is focused on talent, athletics and achievement. It's no beauty contest, and it's about as different from Miss Teen USA as a pageant can be. But in the town where Ms. Albritton was raised, "Junior Miss is a big deal." Can you guess what happened? "I did the Miss Alabama Teen USA Pageant to get interview experience for Alabama's Junior Miss." But she got much more than experience. Quicker than you can say "Rollins Albritton," or at least quicker than you can get used to it, she won the crown. |
| Ms. Albritton still has all the Junior Miss qualities to go with her Teen USA looks. She's smart, athletic, talented and very sweet. Just about the only thing she can't do is sing, but she doesn't mind. She would rather listen to her idol, Edwin McCain. "His style is kind of bluesy, kind of jazzy," she said adoringly. When we told her she may be more famous than he is, she laughed with delight. We could tell she didn't believe us, and that was kind of nice. | 
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 | Voice of the RockiesWe never asked Kristi Krings anything about her legs, but she told us plenty. "They're chicken legs," said Miss Montana Teen USA. "Some people call them ostrich legs. They make me look like I'm riding an ostrich. They're 80 percent of my body." In the interest of accuracy, we should note that many people -- including our reporters -- find Ms. Krings' legs very well proportioned. You pageant fans will have to make your own judgment. |
| Though her legs may not remind you of a bird, Ms. Krings' voice will. She's a spectacular singer, and she has already traveled to the East Coast to cut a demo. The Miss Teen USA Pageant doesn't have a talent competition, and overall that may be for the best, but in her case it's too bad. |
| Ms. Krings is a city girl by Montana standards. Still, the wilderness isn't far away, and she makes the trip every chance she gets. "I love to be up there in the mountains," she said. "I go fishing sometimes. Mostly I just like to pitch a tent and relax." If you're ever in the northern Rockies at sunset, you may hear an almost angelic voice echoing off the peaks. Maybe it's Kristi Krings. Enjoy. Photos courtesy of Kristi Krings |  |
No hesitationSome friends call Lauren Arnold "Little Miss Drama Queen," but she says it's just good-natured teasing. It all started when she was a young girl and dreamed of being a movie star. We suspect her friends are actually pretty impressed with her now. At 18, she has already met a president of the United States and worked in Hollywood, and now she's in the Miss Teen USA Pageant. If they're not impressed, we are. |  |
| Ms. Arnold is Miss Arkansas Teen USA, so you can probably guess which president she has met. Bill Clinton. He's also the man who inspired her to play the saxophone in her high school band. She walked up and introduced herself to Clinton several years ago at a wedding. He was already a good friend of her "second double cousin," but most girls might still have been a little bashful about approaching someone so famous. Not Lauren Arnold. "I've never been shy about talking to anybody," she says. Her Hollywood work was a brief stint as a production assistant on "Emeril Live," the TV show featuring world-famous chef Emeril Lagasse. Is he a nice man? "He really is nice," she says. And can he cook? "Yes." (PNB always asks at least one easy question.) |
 | Ms. Arnold has been in pageants for three years, and she entered the Miss Arkansas Teen USA competition in typically impulsive fashion. "I had been a semifinalist at Miss Arkansas Teen America, so I already had all the clothes bought. I thought, 'Why let them go to waste?' " She won the state title, so they certainly weren't wasted. Photos courtesy of Lauren Arnold |
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