Two of Warren senior Adriana Demos’ worlds collided in Bloomington last month.
Before her weigh-in at the Illinois High School Association’s inaugural state meet for girls wrestling, the 2022 Miss Teen Illinois International winner learned her nails were too long.
Warren wrestling coach Brad Janecek said the “humorous situation” made him chuckle.
“Yes, we do chide her at times, but that only comes with knowing someone so well,” he said.
That moment also illustrates a larger point.
“I’m a living example that you don’t just have to be an athlete or a pretty beauty queen, as they say,” said Demos, who has committed to wrestle at Albion College. “You can do both.
“When I walk into a wrestling room, I have my nails. It doesn’t faze anybody. Most of my opponents in wrestling don’t really know my background.”
Demos, who earned the pageant crown in November, placed third in the 145-pound weight class to become the first Warren girl to earn a state medal.
But defining her is just as hard as pinning her on the mat. She also runs a nonprofit, Equally Equipped, which aims to provide singlets to middle school and high school girls, and she has been an ambassador for Wrestle Like A Girl, which uses the sport to empower girls and women worldwide.
Randi Moxi, executive director of Illinois International Pageants, called Demos “a trailblazer.”
“Adriana continues to motivate young women to go after what they dream of, no matter the lack of resources and opportunity,” Moxi said. “She tells them they can and will, and she has shown them it can be done.”
Demos, who won a national championship in cheerleading when she was younger, got started in wrestling in seventh grade after watching her older brother Andrew compete. He was a three-time state qualifier at Warren and wrestles at Nebraska-Kearney.
“I stuck with cheer for years and accomplished what I needed to do, so a few days after nationals, I told my mom and dad that I was going to wrestle,” Demos said. “My dad didn’t know what to expect. He was neutral about it at first. But my parents have been supportive about it.”
Wrestling hasn’t been easy for her, though. Demos has suffered three concussions and a torn labrum in her shoulder, which sidelined her for her entire junior season. She also had to fight the stigma associated with wrestling boys early in her career.
She went 19-4 this past season on the way to her third-place medal.
“My high school wrestling journey has been probably one of the hardest things I’ve had to go through,” she said. “I missed my whole junior year and didn’t come back until November. Everybody else was getting better and training hard. I wasn’t able to make up that lost time, so placing third at state was important.”
But Demos said she’s never been afraid of bringing wrestling bruises or scars to pageants, noting she can “just put some makeup on.”
She started participating in pageants five years ago and won the 2017 Junior Miss Lake County Fair Queen title. In July, she’ll compete in the Miss Teen International pageant in Kingsport, Tennessee.
“I have met some phenomenal and advanced athletic sportswomen through this industry,” Moxi said. “Adriana is the only female wrestler I’ve ever seen on a pageant stage in my 39 years of experience. She made history in many ways at the inaugural championship.”
Demos intends to make an impact with her nonprofit too.
“I’ve partnered with a singlet company trying to get girls wrestlers customized (singlets) in underserved communities,” she said. “It’s so important for growth in wrestling to have the correct tools for success. Singlets are already uncomfortable, but then being a growing teenage girl makes it more difficult.”
Demos said she’s comfortable with her busy schedule, mainly because her wide range of activities allows her to help young women.
“I want to bring more action for girls and give them tools to succeed in all aspects of life,” she said.
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
