#TeamTexas AYOP 2016 - SuperStarzzz Twirlers

Did you know there are SEVENTY baton twirlers attending AYOP representing the great State of Texas? 2016 is going to be a great year for #TeamTexas! Only 16 more days until AYOP begins. 

The post today is featuring a group that represents ladies from all over the NE area of Texas including Fort Worth, Rockwall, and East Texas. Let me introduce to you Janice Jackson's SuperStarzzz Twirlers. The Super Starzzz Twirlers are pictured below from Left to Right:

• Kendal Baker, competing in the Advanced Junior open division
• Lilly Barnett, competing in the Intermediate Pre-Teen open division
• Maggie Barnett, Texas State Junior Advanced Pageant Royalty
• Alex Bridges, Feature Twirler for Southern Methodist University (SMU)
• Rachel Dugan, Feature Twirler for Stephen F Austin State Univ (SFA)
• Brooklyn Maxwell, 2016 Juvenile Southwest Regional Basic Skills Pageant Winner

Congrats to these 5 beautiful twirlers on going to AYOP representing Texas. We look forward to following your successes and hope to see your names up on those Top 10 postings!

#TeamTexas AYOP 2016 - M & M Majorettes

Can you believe that in only two weeks everyone will be traveling to South Bend, Indiana for the 2016 AYOP event? It is so close! We know everyone is practicing hard and getting ready for the big week!

The next group we are featuring is from way up in the panhandle. These four fantastic twirlers are part of the M & M Majorettes out of Lubbock, TX, and are coached by Vanessa Moffett & Lorissa Moffett Mason.

The M & M Majorettes attending AYOP are (from Left to Right):

• LoRee Price, the 2016-17 Frenship High School Feature Twirler
• Nicole Carter, the 2016 Intermediate Pre-teen Miss Majorette of Texas
• Kaitlen McNeill, the 2016 Intermediate Senior Miss Majorette of the Southwest & the Feature Twirler for San Angelo State University
• Brylee Jesko, the 2016 Beginner Juvenile Miss Majorette of Texas

We cannot wait to see the four of you represent your home state in the pageant and open events. Enjoy the experience, and don't forget to prepare to eat your weight in snowcones... you know we all will!

#TeamTexas AYOP 2016 - Vicki Michelle School of Dance & Twirl

This blog is getting exciting! We have had 1,582 page views since launching our #TeamTexas features. WOW! This level of support just shows what the Texas twirling community is all about!

Today we get to meet two of the members of the Vicki Michelle School of Dance & Twirl in Spring, TX, that are in full on prep mode for NBTA Nationals. 

The first is Jacie Conway, the 2016 Intermediate Tiny Tot Texas State Pageant Winner. Jacie has been performing with the VM School since she was two years old and joined the baby ballet class! Jacie not only loves to twirl, but she also loves the beach, is a straight 'A' student, and when she grows up, she wants to be a performer in Cirque Du Soleil.

The second VM Twirler attending AYOP is Kayli Bull, who will be competing in the Beginner Junior division. Kayli is the feature twirler at Tompkins High School in Katy ISD, where she also plays the flute. She has been dancing since she was one year old, she loves shopping and the color pink, and when she grows up she want to be a surgeon.

Good luck ladies! We know you will both do a great job representing Texas and VM Twirlers!

#TeamTexas AYOP 2016 - Vick's Chicks

Happy Independence Day everyone! We hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Today we jump to the other side of the DFW Metroplex to meet Vick's Chicks! Vick's Chicks, coached by Vicki Ray, is based out of Fort Worth, TX, but has students from all over the Metroplex area.

First, let's introduce the girls in Gold! From Left to Right:

Emma Zuar is the feature twirler at Keller Central HS. She will be attending AYOP as SW Regional & Texas State Royalty for the Junior division in the National Advanced Pageant.

Molly Green is from Crawford, TX, and is the 2016 Beginner Juvenile Southwest Regional Pageant Winner.

Haylee Castagna is the Vanderbilt University Feature Twirler, and will be competing in the Miss Majorette of America pageant as the 2016 Senior Miss Majorette of the South.

Next we meet these two beautiful Red Raiders!

Paxton Parliament is a member of the Texas Tech University Twirling Line and will be competing with their team at Nationals in the collegiate division.

Adelyn Brotherton is from Denton, TX, and is the 2016 Intermediate Tiny Tot Southwest Regional Pageant Winner.


We wish all five of the Vick's Chicks a successful AYOP Week and wish them luck as they compete in their National Pageants and Collegiate events. 

#Team Texas AYOP 2016 - Texas Touch of Class

The next group we would like to feature in the countdown to AYOP is from the "Big D"!

We would like to introduce everyone to Texas Touch of Class. This is a group out of Dallas instructed by coaches Shirley Payne and Sheila Payne Rigelsky.

Pictured below from Left to Right are the team members and coaches attending AYOP, which includes:

• Coach - Sheila Payne-Rigelsky
• 2016 Beginner Junior Texas State Pageant Winner - K.K. Tunnell
• 2016 Intermediate Juvenile Texas State Pageant Winner - Payton Jones
• 2016 College Pageant Royalty, from The University of Texas - Erica Kuntz
• 2016 Beginner Junior Southwest Regional Pageant Winner - Chailie Alsaffar
• Coach - Miss Shirley Payne
• 2016 Intermediate Juvenile Southwest Regional Pageant Winner - Jenna Bowen (not pictured)

All of these talented ladies are super excited to represent the Southwest Region and the great State of Texas. We all want to wish them a big round of good luck and excellent performances as they compete in their respective National pageants.

**If you have students attending AYOP and would like them featured on this blog, please email texastwirlcontact@gmail.com with their picture and information so we can highlight them here.

Twirlers 'Bring It' to the Miss Texas Stage

This week in Richardson, TX, the Annual Miss Texas & Miss Texas Outstanding Teen competitions were held. For 2016, the Texas twirling community had 3 great representatives - Caroline, Syndey, & Ashley.

All three of these ladies did a "no drop" performance in their preliminary talents! Way to go!

On Tuesday, after preliminaries, Sydney was awarded Overall Talent Winner for the "Tau" group.

On Thursday, after preliminaries, Caroline was awarded Overall Talent Winner for the "Sigma" group, and Sydney was awarded Overall Fitness Winner for the "Tau" group.

Every night that had a baton twirler competing in talent, the Overall Talent Winner was a baton twirler. These three all did a great job of representing our sport.

On the evening of Saturday, July 2nd, the final competition and crowning was held. The event began with announcing the Top 12. Both Sydney and Caroline made the Top 12! During their talent portion, they both did high energy, "no drop" performances that moved them into the Top 8, allowing them to participate in the interview portion of the event.

After the interviews, when they announced the Top 5, Sydney Webster was awarded 2nd Runner Up, and Caroline was awarded the title of the 2016 Miss Texas. This means that of the Top 3 places, 2 of them were awarded to baton twirlers. WOW! We could not be prouder of our Texas twirlers and we cannot wait to see Caroline on the Miss America stage. Congrats ladies on an amazing evening.

#TeamTexas AYOP 2016 - Twirling Prodigies

As we all know, AYOP is just around the corner, and we couldn't be more excited!

To get us all ready to cheer on our Texas Twirlers, for the month of July, this blog is going to follow #TeamTexas and highlight some of the great Texas twirlers that will be attending AYOP.

To start us off we are going to highlight a new team that is sending a student to Nationals for the first time!
We would like to introduce everyone to Emily Mitchell! Emily twirls with the group Twirling Prodigies which is taught by Director/Owner Shelby Elder. This will not only be Emily's first time at AYOP, but it will also be the very first time a member of Twirling Prodigies competes at NBTA Nationals.

A little about Emily... She attends Whiteoak High School in Whiteoak, TX. She will be a sophomore in high school starting in the fall. A fun fact about Emily is that she is also an all-state vocalist in the choir. If she looks familiar, it is because she has sung the National Anthem at the SW Regional and Texas State twirling championships.

Good Luck at AYOP Emily! We hope you have a wonderful time and learn a lot. #TeamTexas is routing for you! Oh yeah... don't forget to bring money for the AYOP cookies. They are a must!

**If you have students attending AYOP and would like them featured on this blog, please email texastwirlcontact@gmail.com with their picture and information so we can highlight them here.