Miss Ohio USA 2021 Nicole Wess, 23, of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States will crown her successor at The Vern Riffe Center for the Arts in Portsmouth, Ohio on May 21, 2022. It is the 71st edition of the state-level beauty pageant that selects Ohio’s candidate for Miss USA, which selects the Miss Universe candidate of the U.S..

Currently, Ohio has 22 Miss USA placements including the coronation of Sue Downey in 1965 and Kim Seelbrede in 1981 and the first runner-up finish on Halle Berry in 1986. The most recent one was in 2020 when Sthephanie Miranda finished in the Top 16.

Wess was crowned Miss Ohio USA 2021 at Matthews Auditorium in Sharonville, Ohio on July 10, 2021. The respective first, second, third and fourth runners-up were Mariah Payne of Northern Ohio, Andrea Hunter of Glass City, Madeleine Smith of Buckeye Lake and Mackenzie Schutt of Westerville.

There are 53 women competing for the Miss Ohio USA 2022 title. Here are the candidates:

1. Kayla DePew (Akron)
2. Sarah Snyder (Batavia)
3. Natalie Rarick (Canal Winchester)
4. Madeleine Smith (Central Ohio)
5. Courtney Den Braber (Chagrin Falls)
6. Rebecca Restrepo (Cincinnati)
7. Donna Byrd (Cleveland)
8. Carolina Reinoso (Columbus)
9. Jaylah Fellows (Cuyahoga County)
10. Farida So (Dayton)
11. Catherine Thomas (Degraff)
12. Neeharika Pesala (Dublin)
13. Brooke Pleta (Dublin Township)
14. Hannah Blair (Emerald City)
15. Mariah Whitney (Fairfield)
16. Veneicia Lee (Forest Park)
17. Sir’Quora Carroll (Franklin County)
18. Victoria Kabungulu (Galloway)
19. Andrea Hunter (Glass City)
20. Emily Quinn (Goodyear Heights)
21. Rachel Spivak (Greater Cincinnati)
22. Brooke Stanley (Heart of Ohio)
23. Delaney Wilder (Hyde Park)
24. Payton Szymczak (Lake Erie)
25. Brianna Williams (Liberty Township)
26. Victoria Calvin (Locust Grove Township)
27. Kiyasia Hudson (Lorain County)
28. Megan Litomisky (Lucas County)
29. Mimi Price (Mason)
30. Teyana Adams (Metro Columbus)
31. Madison Kwasniewski (Milford)
32. Amelia Holmes (Montgomery County)
33. Kasey Jackson (Newark)
34. Micah Rhodes (North Canton)
35. Katie Engle (North Central Ohio)
36. Argisa Deda (Northeast Ohio)
37. Jordan Ross (Northern Dayton)
38. Brianna Barnett (Northwest Ohio)
39. Olivia Miller (Oakley)
40. Cassidy Bruns (Olde Towne East)
41. Grace Brown (Park of Roses)
42. Nikuale Williams (Queen City)
43. Morgan Payne (Reynoldsburg)
44. LeAia Reed (Roselawn)
45. Neha Nidhi (Scarlet City)
46. Elise Elliott (South Central Ohio)
47. Sara Thornton (Springfield)
48. Allison Greenwood (St. Clairsville)
49. Tyler Mathis (Sylvania)
50. Kalie Marantette (Toledo)
51. Olivia Collier (Wadsworth)
52. Mackenzie Schutt (West Albany)
53. Brooke Pitman (Wyoming)