The Twirl-M’s Baton Twirling Group of Walled Lake, Michigan brought home plenty of hardware after a busy spring and summer filled with practices and competitions. In all, the team won 15 titles and were finalists another 15 times with another 38 top 10 medals.
Emily Brown, a sophomore at Walled Lake Northern High School won the 2022 Twirling Unlimited International Junior Advanced Two Baton Championship and the first Ardath Franck Memorial Scholarship for first place in interview. Brown is the reigning Junior Miss Majorette of Michigan and State Solo, Strut, Two Baton, and Three Baton Champion. She also placed Top 20 in the NBTA Grand National Twirling Championship that features nearly 70 twirlers from across the nation.
College Sophomores Sophia Giacalone (Belmont University) and Katie Swinehart (Western Michigan University) each won their respective College Pageants this season. Giacalone is the 2022 College Miss Majorette of the Great Lakes, while Swinehart earned the title of College Miss Majorette of Michigan. They are both feature twirlers.
Avery Ladd, a freshman at Walled Lake Northern High School, and Addison Kuhn, an 8th grader at St. Pats, joined Brown in making the twirl-off finals at the NBTA National Championships held this past July in Notre Dame. Kuhn also won a $1,000 scholarship at the TU International Contest.
Other notables this spring and summer were Julia Blaharski, an 8th grader at Clifford Smart Middle School, who won the NBTA World Open Beginner 2 Baton contest for age 12 year olds, and Lucy Holland, a 7th grader at Clifford Smart Middle School, who joined partner Eliana Curry, a 6th grader in South Lyon Schools, winning the Novice World Open Duet title for their age group. Leslie Blaharski, an 8th grader at Clifford Smart Middle School, won the title of Intermediate Michigan Pageant Winner at the state contest in May representing Michigan in the national contest where she finished 11th overall.
“This spring and summer marked the return to normal training,” remarked Rhonda Muscaro, the Director of the Twirl-M’s. “Since Covid, we have not had consistent gym space so it was great to get back to our weekly training. We are thankful to so many who have helped us along the way! All of these athletes are to be commended for their hard work for several years to get back to state, regional, and national contests following Covid.”
Thirteen students representing the cities of Walled Lake, Commerce Township, Waterford, White Lake, and South Lyon, participated in the Twirl-M’s spring and summer Team Nationals program. The Twirl-M’s is a baton twirling group from Walled Lake. The group features baton twirling instruction for all ages 4 through college and includes new, recreation, and competitive instruction. Additionally, the Twirl-M’s feature high school majorettes and college feature twirlers, of which they have six: Michigan State University, University of Alabama (2), Western Michigan University, Vanderbilt University, and Central Michigan University.
Weekly classes, camps, enrichment programs, and private instruction are all available through the Twirl-M’s. Interested students should consult the web site, www.TwirlM.com for more information. Or enroll in the fall program by visiting www.wlcsd.org/communityeducation or American Allstars at 248-668-9805. The group is in its 23rd year under the direction of Rhonda Muscaro. For questions or more information, email TwirlMBaton@gmail.com.
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