Few teenage girls can boast of being a queen. But, Logan West can count herself among the lucky ones.

The 18-year-old, who entered the pageant as Miss Connecticut, was crowned Miss Teen USA on Saturday at the Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island.

The Southington, Connecticut native, who is a senior at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, beat out 50 other girls from across the United States.

She sent the crowd wild with her response to the night’s most controversial question concerning the NCAA’s decision to penalise Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation trial.

“I, at this point, am feeling nothing. My head is a million different places. I am beyond excited. I have worked so hard to get here and to watch my hard work pay off is just absolutely amazing. I can’t even describe it; I feel incredible,” she told the Bahama Journal shortly after winning the crown.

At the age of 14, West formed Bully Proof, a programme that empowers children to prevent bullying.

She says she’s looking forward to working with all of the organisations that Miss Teen USA partners with.

When asked what set her apart from the other contestants West said, “I just know how to be me.”

“I know how to be no one other than myself, so I think that just being Logan from Connecticut was it,” she said.

Questions for the contestants ranged from Penn State’s recent NCAA sanctions to social media to the massacre in Colorado.

West, who said she hopes to attend Fordham University in New York, plans to study dance and then become a lawyer but first, “I’ve got to finish my reign in Miss Teen USA.”

This was the first time the teen has visited The Bahamas and the Atlantis Resort.

“I love The Bahamas . . . this place is absolutely beautiful. I will be vacationing here in the future,” she said.

After West was announced the winner she immediately screamed, “Where’s my mom?”

The new winner said her mother has been “so instrumental” in her life.

“My mom is absolutely amazing. I think that it’s easy when a girl is on stage to say how great she looks, but they don’t know just how much work has gone behind her. My mom has been there every step of the way, she’s my biggest supporter, my number one fan, my everything,” West said.
The pageant’s first runner-up was Elizabeth Sabatino, Miss West Virginia Teen USA; second runner-up Courtney Pizzimenti, Miss Michigan Teen USA; third runner-up Jessica Morgan, Miss Oklahoma Teen USA; and fourth Runner-up Kendall Fein, Miss Ohio Teen USA.
During her reign, West will help out with the pageant’s causes, including: Best Buddies, an organisation to help people with intellectual disabilities; Girl Talk, a student-to-student mentor programme for girls; Sparrow Clubs, which helps children having medical crises; Project Sunshine, which provides recreational opportunities to children with medical problems and their families; and D.A.R.E., a police officer-led classroom programme designed to persuade children not to use drugs.
Since 2008, the pageant has been held at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island.

“The fact that we can attract Miss Teen USA here for the [fourth] year speaks to our product; it speaks to the kind of experience they want. They could’ve gone to 50 states and scores of cities, but they choose to come here every year. We’re just a very good team . . . and we’re very proud of the fact that we could have things like Miss Teen USA, the battle for Atlantis, Miss Universe and all of these things, [which] are world standard events,” said Atlantis Senior VP of Public Affairs & Retail Services Ed Fields.

“In order for us to continue doing this we have to insist on standards. So, when you see people complaining about how we do things on the beach or how we do things when it comes to keeping order with the taxis . . . it’s all to maintain a standard. This isn’t Budget Hotel. This is a high-end product and in order to keep that product at a high level there’s a lot that goes into it.”

The Miss Teen USA pageant is part of the Miss Universe Organization co-owned by Donald Trump and NBC Universal.

The pageant is open to girls 13-19.