Miss Virginia Tara Wheeler has a mission: win Miss America, and show the world that pageant contestants aren’t all blond airheads.

Wheeler comes with form: when she’s not dressed in a gown on stage, she’s the goalie on Penn State’s women’s ice hockey team.

Says Wheeler:

I think it’s good for the Miss America Pageant right now because there’s a lot of negative stereotypes about pageant girls and I’ve found out that they’re definitely not true. So being a hockey goalie means more attention drawn to our program because it’s someone who’s a little bit different.

Sports by Brooks has more. Miss America is on TLC tonight.