Miss New Mexico USA

For the state pageant affiliated with Miss America, see Miss New Mexico.

Miss New Mexico USA

Formation	1952
Type	Beauty pageant
Headquarters	El Paso
Location	Texas
Membership	Miss USA
Official language	English
Website	Official website

The Miss New Mexico USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of New Mexico in the Miss USA pageant. It is directed by Laura's Productions based in El Paso, Texas. ^[1]

New Mexico achieved many placements in the 1960s to the '80s and produced one Miss USA, Mai Shanley in 1984. The most recent placement was Bianca Wright in 2023, placing in the Top 20.

Dominique Ehrl of Santa Fe was crowned as Miss New Mexico USA 2025 on August 17, 2025 at the NMSU Center for the Arts in Las Cruces. She will represent New Mexico at Miss USA 2025.

Gallery of titleholders

• 
  Mai Shanley, Miss New Mexico & Miss USA 1984
• 
  Onawa Lacy, Miss New Mexico USA 2006

Results summary

• Miss USA: Mai Shanley (1984)
• 1st runners-up: Brenda Denton (1985), Alejandra Gonzalez (2019)
• 2nd runners-up: Judith Baldwin (1965)
• 4th runners-up: Bonnie Tafoya (1968), Marlena Garland (1978)
• Top 5: Michelle Rios (1999)
• Top 10/11/12: Donna Reel (1972), Jonelle Bergquist (1976), Denise Funderburk (1977), Kathy Patrick (1980), Kriston "Kiki" Killgore (1987), Alina Ogle (2003), Suzanne Perez (2022)
• Top 15/16/20: Joan Schwartz (1955), Sandra "Sandi" Fullingim (1963), Mary Gard (1969), Jenna Hardin (2004), Brittany Toll (2011), Bianca Wright (2023)
• New Mexico holds a record of 20 placements at Miss USA.

Awards

• Miss Photogenic: Michele Sandoval (1979)
• Best State Costume: Kriston "Kiki" Killgore (1987)
• People's Choice & Fan Favorite: Brittany Toll (2011)

Winners

Color key

•   Declared as Winner
•   Ended as runner-up
•   Ended as one of the finalists or semifinalists

Year	Name	Hometown	Age [a]	Local title	Placement at Miss USA	Special awards at Miss USA	Notes
2025	Dominique Ehrl	Santa Fe	26	Miss Land of Enchantment	TBA	TBA
2024	Mackenzie Sydow	Albuquerque	22	Miss Uptown
2023	Bianca Wright	Anthony	28	Miss Anthony	Top 20
2022	Suzanne Perez	Portales	25	Miss Portales	Top 12		First Filipino American Miss New Mexico USA
2021	Christa Schafer	Las Cruces	26	Miss Las Cruces
2020	Cecilia Rodriguez	South Valley	27	Miss South Valley			Longest reigning Miss New Mexico USA at 1 year, 6 months and 20 days
2019	Alejandra Gonzalez[ citation needed ]	Las Cruces	26	Miss Las Cruces	1st runner-up
2018	Kristen Leyva [2]	Las Cruces	23	Miss Billy The Kid			New Mexico State University Graduate 2016, Mechanical Engineering
2017	Ashley Mora	Albuquerque	25	Miss Land of Enchantment			Previously Miss New Mexico World 2015 Top 22 at Miss World America 2015
2016	Naomie Germain	Bernalillo	22	Miss Paradise Hills
2015	Alexis Duprey	Alamogordo	24	Miss Mesilla Valley			Triple crown winner Previously Miss New Mexico Teen USA 2009 Previously Miss New Mexico 2013
2014	Kamryn Blackwood	Farmington	22	Miss Farmington
2013	Kathleen Elizabeth Danzer[ citation needed ]	Rio Rancho	24	Miss Rio Ancho
2012	Jessica Martin	Las Cruces	21	Miss Las Cruces
2011	Brittany Toll	Las Cruces	22	Miss Billy The Kid	Top 16		People's Choice & Fan Favorite in Swimwear Competition Previously Miss New Mexico Teen USA 2005 and Top 10 at Miss Teen USA 2005
2010	Rosanne Dene Aguilar	Sunland Park	23	Miss Sunland Park			Sister of Raelene Aguilar, Miss New Mexico USA 2008 & Miss New Mexico Teen USA 2000.
2009	Bianca Matamoros-Koonce	Albuquerque	22	Miss Zia
2008	Raelene Aguilar	Sunland Park	26	Miss Sunland Park			Previously Miss New Mexico Teen USA 2000
2007	Casey Messer	Alamogordo	23	Miss Land of Enchantment
2006	Onawa Lacy	Gallup	23	Miss Highland
2005	Jacqueline Deaner	Las Cruces	25
2004	Jenna Hardin	Lovington	21		Semi-finalist, Finishing in 13th Place
2003	Alina Ogle	Albuquerque	21		Semi-finalist, Finishing in 6th Place		Previously Miss New Mexico Teen USA 1999
2002	Ellen Colyer	Farmington
2001	Jennifer Adams	Las Cruces
2000	Christina Ortega	Las Cruces
1999	Michelle Rios	Santa Teresa	23		Top 5, Finishing in 5th Place
1998	Maya Strunk	Farmington
1997	Tanya Harris	Tatum
1996	Layla Linn
1995	Jacqueline Grice	Albuquerque
1994	Jill Vasquez	Albuquerque	24				Previously Miss New Mexico Teen USA 1988 and top 10 at Miss Teen USA 1988; Former co-director of the Miss California USA and Miss California Teen USA pageants under her married name, Jill Vasquez-Foley, Former line captain of the NFL Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders
1993	Daniela Johnson	Albuquerque					Mother of Annika Bennion, Miss Montana's Outstanding Teen 2020–21, and Bronté Bennion, Miss Montana's Outstanding Teen 2022
1992	Charlotte Holland
1991	Tiffany Danton
1990	Larissa Canaday
1989	Traci Brubaker	Alamogordo					1st runner up in Miss Oktoberfest 1988
1988	Stephanie Storrie	Clovis					2nd runner up in Miss Oktoberfest 1987
1987	Kriston "Kiki" Killgore	Albuquerque	19		Semi-finalist, Finishing in 7th Place	Winner/1st Place - Best State Costume
1986	Heather Howell	Farmington
1985	Brenda Denton	Hobbs	21		1st runner-up		Later Miss World USA 1985 & 2nd Runner-up at Miss World 1985, 1st runner up at Miss Oktoberfest 1984 as Miss Texas
1984	Mai Therese Shanley	Alamogordo	21	Miss Alamogordo	Miss USA 1984		Previously Miss New Mexico 1983 First Asian American Miss New Mexico USA Semi-finalist at Miss Universe 1984
1983	Kristin Larsen	Santa Fe		Miss Santa Fe
1982	Lisa Allen	Las Cruces
1981	Lise Gabrielle Dominique Thevenet	Las Cruces	23				Graduated from New Mexico State University in 1979 and died at age 55 on August 2, 2013, in Greenwood Village, Colorado
1980	Tonia Pamelym Moya [3]	Albuquerque	18	Miss Bernalillo	Originally first runner-up, but due to represent New Mexico at Miss USA, due to Patrick being initially disqualified by contest officials, on grounds that she lived in Texas. [3] Eventually, the latter was able to participate at the national pageant when she got a federal court in El Paso to restore her title. [4]
	Kathy Dawn Patrick [3]	Anthony	19	Miss Anthony	Top 12 [4]		Miss Oktoberfest 1980 as Miss Texas
1979	Michele Sandoval	Albuquerque				Miss Photogenic
1978	Marlena Garland	Las Cruces			4th runner-up
1977	Denise Funderburk	Albuquerque			Semi-finalist, Finishing in 12th Place
1976	Jonelle Bergquist	Albuquerque			Semi-finalist, Finishing in 10th Place
1975	Maxine Whisler	Albuquerque
1974	Jan Nilsson	Las Cruces
1973	Carolyn Cline	Albuquerque	20				Later Miss Florida 1978 and then Miss America 1979 2nd runner up.
1972	Donna Frances Reel	Albuquerque			Top 12		Later Miss New Mexico 1974 and top 10 at Miss America 1975. Miss New Mexico World 1973 and top 16 at Miss World USA 1973.
1971	Debbie Clary
1970	Theresa Ann Phillips [5]	Las Cruces	18
1969	Mary Gard				Semi-finalist, Finishing in 9th Place
1968	Bonnie Lynn Tafoya	Las Cruces			4th runner-up	Top 15 Best in Swimsuit [6]
1967	Clydia Newell [7]	Clovis	21
1966	Susan Franz	Roswell	19
1965	Judith Lee "Judy" Baldwin [8]	Clovis	19		2nd runner-up
1964	Did Not Compete
1963	Sandra Joyce "Sandi" Fullingim [9]	Albuquerque	18		Top 15
1962	Herma Loy Elliott	Portales
1961	Georgi Edwards
1960	Kaye Smith
1959	Carol Jones
	Sue Ingersoll						Withdrew admidst controversy over the Catholic church's regulations around swimsuit competitions. [10]
1958	Sandi Bullis
1957	Patricia Stafford
1956	Jackie Brown	Albuquerque
1955	Joan Schwartz				Semi-finalist
1953-1954	Did Not Compete
1952	Kay Nail

1. Age at the time of the Miss USA pageant

References

1. "Home Page". Laura's Productions. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
2. "NMSU engineering alumna crowned Miss New Mexico USA". College of Engineering. 2018-02-02. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
3. "She'll have to compete in Texas". The Longview Daily News. 7 February 1980. p. 25. Retrieved 16 October 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. Goggin, Terry (16 May 1980). "South Carolina coed is new Miss USA". Hattiesburg American . p. 9. Retrieved 9 October 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "All together now..." Tulare Advance-Register. 14 May 1970. p. 5. Retrieved 15 October 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "SWIMSUIT WINNERS". Fort Worth Star-Telegram . 16 May 1968. p. 62. Retrieved 7 October 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Pride Of The Southwest". Arizona Daily Star . 16 May 1967. p. 25. Retrieved 14 October 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "RELAXING FROM MISS USA REHEARSAL". The Jackson Sun . 1 June 1965. p. 2. Retrieved 14 October 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "MISS U.S.A. AND 14 RUNNERS-UP". Iowa City Press-Citizen . 18 July 1963. p. 20. Retrieved 8 October 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Quits Contest". The Albuquerque Tribune. 20 July 1959. Retrieved 20 June 2023.

External links

• Official website