Miss Nevada says she’s not nervous about competition

Another Miss Nevada has something to hide.

Nothing major, no racy Internet photos or anything. Cris Crotz simply hides it with her hair.

"A week after I turned 18, I got a tattoo," says Crotz, 24, who competes against 49 other state titleholders for the Miss America crown Saturday at Planet Hollywood Resort.

Etched into the Mesquite resident's nape is an African Adinkra symbol for the Siamese crocodile.

"I call it a hippie tattoo," Crotz says.

Miss Nevada is a punk rocker. She grew up in a small Colorado town on music by the Offspring, Social Distortion and Bad Religion (the band her parents once yanked her out of the sixth grade to see).

"I was definitely the punk rock kid," she says. "I was voted class rebel."

Clearly, this is not the typical pageant path.

"I'm not the typical pageant girl," Crotz replies. "If anything, I'm the antithesis of what most people consider one to be."

Crotz was studying fashion design in Orange County, Calif., when she returned to Mesquite to help care for her ailing mom (who is entering her third year of remission from breast and kidney cancer, thank you very much). Two years ago, Crotz was spotted by a Miss Mesquite organizer at a Tupperware party Crotz attended with her mom.

Since then, Crotz has swept three of the four pageants she competed in.

"I call myself the accidental beauty queen, because I did my first pageant at 22," she says.

The Miss America pageant officially permits tattoos, by the way.

"A few other Miss states have them," Crotz says. "We created a little club."

However, it's not something contestants are encouraged to show off.

"I'm now a role model, and I understand that some parents don't want a role model for their children to have something like that until they're older," Crotz says. "I don't need to be the person who brings up that discussion with their 5-year-old, you know?"

Crotz says she's not nervous about the big showdown.

"I've done everything I can to prepare," she says. "I'm going into it competing against my personal best and not any of the other girls."

For anyone lacking the money or energy to root for Crotz in person, KTNV-TV, Channel 13, will air the competition -- hosted by "The Bachelor's" Chris Harrison and Brooke Burke of "Dancing with the Stars" -- at 9 p.m. Saturday.

Contact reporter Corey Levitan at clevitan@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0456.