Hello Texas Twirl Fans!
It is amazing how fast this season has gone. We are only a couple weeks away from the entry deadline for the TX Holiday Twirl Fest (visit TX Holiday Twirl Fest for more details), and 10 days away from the Fall Kick Off Contest, which is the first NBTA Texas contest of the season! We also cannot believe that today we are meeting one of our last few collegiate twirlers for this Fall.
Each season this blog likes to get to know many of our awesome Texas twirlers a little better by learning about their experiences. We will be meeting many High School twirlers throughout the season with the Friday Night Lights Features and discovering more about our Texas Collegians with the Collegiate Twirler Spotlights. We will also be having many of our High School and Collegiate twirlers take over our Social Media Story for their Game Days! Make sure to follow us on Instagram @twirlingiscatchingtx or at facebook.com/twirlingiscatchingtx so you don't miss a thing!
Our next Collegiate Twirler Spotlight is on the Baylor Golden Girl Feature Twirlers!
Baylor University, located in Waco, Texas, is the home of the Bears, and some amazing baton twirling talent. The Feature Twirlers at Baylor are referred to as the Golden Girls, and they carry on a legacy that has previously included not one, but two Miss Texas winners, World Team Members, and a former Collegiate Miss Majorette of America. Wow! Rocking the Green and Gold in McLane Stadium, the 2024-2025 Baylor Golden Girls include Josie D’Acquisto, Mallory Reynier, and Maggie Churdimsky!
To earn their spot as a Golden Girl, these twirlers had to go through an extensive audition process. “To audition for a spot as a Baylor feature twirler, you must email an audition packet by January 3rd. There is more information about what that packet needs to include online. From there, select applicants will be invited to Baylor for an in-person audition and an interview!”
Choosing a college can be a complicated choice for some, but not for these three! Josie chose to attend Baylor because she always looked up to the Baylor Golden Girls and knew it would be a great match. Maggie chose Baylor because she grew up with her coach taking her to all the games, and just loved being on that field. Mallory chose Baylor because it has a great PT school that she wanted to be a part of, and the twirling spot was a great bonus.
While Maggie is a Texas girl, Josie and Mallory both came to Baylor from out of state. “We decided to go out of state to experience a new place. College is the easiest time to explore new States!”
Baylor has so much to offer its students, and the twirlers had a hard time pinning down their favorites, but they all agree that the people make it great! Josie’s favorite thing about Baylor is its atmosphere. “It is very intimate and intentional”. Mallory’s favorite thing about Baylor is their band director, Dr. Odajima. Maggie’s favorite thing about Baylor is being able to twirl with her best friends, with the most amazing band.
Being in Waco, the home of Dr. Pepper, Baylor really leans into their love for the soda. “Every Tuesday, our school hosts ‘Dr. Pepper Hour’. This is an hour where all students can get free Dr. Pepper Floats.” This is just one of the amazing traditions the Baylor students enjoy, but there are many others. “The best tradition at Baylor is Homecoming. There is a massive pep rally and bonfire, followed the next day by a parade and football game! Baylor also has freshmen “run the line” at every home game, which is where they run on the football field before the players!” They also can’t forget their band traditions. “Within our band program, we always play “Word Up” and there is a fun dance that the entire band does during it!”
With both Mallory and Josie in their senior year, as the season starts to wrap up they are really looking forward to getting the most out of every moment. “We are really looking forward to enjoying some of our favorite moments on campus. We have like All University Thanksgiving, where the whole school sits at Fountain Mall and has Thanksgiving dinner together, and Christmas on Fifth, where all of Fifth Street through the middle of campus is full of horse carriages and ice-skating rinks. Besides that, we always look forward to watching as much Baylor football as possible!”
Now that we have learned more about life at Baylor, let’s learn more about the Golden Girls.
Competition Level: Elite
Josie has been twirling for 18 years. She is a member of the team Revolution, and is coached by Kelli Perelman. The competition title she is the proudest of earning was this past summer, when her team won the EsTEAMed cup at USTA Nationals! “We were also chosen to be on Team USA as the Elite Team!” Her favorite competition trick is a leap double walkover, and her field trick is an illusion walkover! In baton twirling, she has been most inspired by her coach, Kellie Perelman, as well as her team at home and the other Baylor Golden Girls. After College she plans to attend Grad School for engineering!
Competition Level: Elite
Mallory has been twirling for 11 years. She started competing as a member of the Eastern Shore Twirlers, coached by Stacy Forbess. Then she twirled on Intrepid, coached by Jackie Stewart, Karissa Wimberly, and Cheryl Wimberly. The competition title she is the proudest of was when her team won the USTA Elite Team Grand Champion and made Team USA. Her favorite competition tricks are a spin-illusion walkover or leap double-walkover, and her favorite field tricks are leap walkovers and floor tricks. In baton twirling, she has been most inspired by her twirling friends and her late coach Mrs. Stacy. After college she plans to pursue a Doctorate in Physical Therapy.
Competition Level: Elite
Maggie has been twirling for 18 years. She is a member of both the Ambition Baton Club and Lynndell’s Twirl and Dance, and is coached by Lynndell Harrell and Lori Perkins. The competition title she is the proudest of earning was when she was named the 2023 Senior Women’s A 3 baton Gold Medalist at the Nation’s Cup in Liverpool, England. Her favorite competition trick or field trick is always anything three baton. In baton twirling, she has been most inspired by former Baylor Golden Girl, Adaline Bebo. After college, she plans to go back to school for her master’s degree in athletic training.
Maggie has been twirling for 18 years. She is a member of both the Ambition Baton Club and Lynndell’s Twirl and Dance, and is coached by Lynndell Harrell and Lori Perkins. The competition title she is the proudest of earning was when she was named the 2023 Senior Women’s A 3 baton Gold Medalist at the Nation’s Cup in Liverpool, England. Her favorite competition trick or field trick is always anything three baton. In baton twirling, she has been most inspired by former Baylor Golden Girl, Adaline Bebo. After college, she plans to go back to school for her master’s degree in athletic training.
Fun Facts!
- Favorite Color – Green and Gold (Josie), Pink! (Mallory), Purple (Maggie)
- Favorite TV Show or Movie – “Dancing with the Stars” (Josie & Maggie), “Grey’s Anatomy” (Mallory)
- Favorite Book – “1984” (Josie), “Fourth Wing series” (Mallory), “It Ends With Us” (Maggie)
- Josie – “A crisp Diet Coke.”
- Maggie – “Dr Pepper.”
- Josie - “Fake it till ya make it!”
- Mallory – “It is what it is”
- Maggie – “Everything happens for a reason.”
- Josie – “Hang out with my friends!”
- Maggie – “Hang out with my friends!”
- Josie – “I am in a club called BAJA where I help build the electrical system for a car.”
- Mallory – “I love volunteering at the humane society and walking the dogs.”
- Maggie – “I know how to wake surf.”
- Josie – “How to work well with a team.”
- Mallory – “Discipline, creativity, and teamwork skills.”
- Maggie – “Perseverance.”
- Josie – “Be confident. You know your routine, they don’t.”
- Mallory – “Don’t lose the love!”
- Maggie – “Point your toes!”
- Josie – “Twirl big and have fun, you will never experience anything else like college twirling.”
- Mallory – “Soak in all in! It’ll be over before you know it.”
Funniest memory as a baton twirler…
- Josie – “Mallory’s toenails fell off after the first football game!”
- Mallory – “I was so bored waiting for awards that some of my Eastern Shore Twirlers teammates and I started doing our mom’s makeup in the locker room to match us.”
- Maggie – “Any of my competition team practices, they hold some of the funniest memories ever.”
Favorite thing about marching season…
- Josie – “I love the first football game when the band is in full uniform, it is amazing to see all our hard work come together!”
- Mallory – “Getting to see Josie and Maggie three times a week!”
- Maggie – “Taking the field every game day for pregame.”
What will they miss most when marching season is over…
We want to thank the Baylor Golden Girls for sharing their Game Day with us, and we hope they all have a great remainder of the Baylor Football Season. Sic Em Bears!
- Josie – “Seeing the band three times a week (four when there is a game!)”
- Mallory – “Being that it is my last marching season, I will miss the band and being able to twirl at the football stadium with my fellow Golden Girls.”
- Maggie – “Being able to twirl in front of all the amazing fans at McLane Stadium.”
We want to thank the Baylor Golden Girls for sharing their Game Day with us, and we hope they all have a great remainder of the Baylor Football Season. Sic Em Bears!
We hope you have enjoyed this blog post. We are always looking for great new stories about Texas twirlers. Do you have an idea or some information we could use to help highlight our sport? Contact us at texastwirlcontact@gmail.com and we would love to hear more about it.
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