By NATE KING
Salina Post
Last year Shannon's Stars Twirling Club won the gold medal in the Show Twirl Accessory Corp team competition at the 2023 World Baton Twirling Championships and Nations Cup held in Liverpool, England.
Shannon Meis, head coach at Shannon's Stars, said the audience's reaction following the team's "no drop" routine is something she will always remember.
"It's like the Olympics for baton twirling you train for one event, one discipline, and that is your job to go over and perform as a representative for the United States," Meis said. "There were 21 different countries represented, and we were the first out of the gate for our performance and the girls did the most beautiful no drop routine. I wish I could bring back the feeling of the entire arena after we used some of our effects, they were ooing and ahing and I can see in the video, it wasn't just our people, but everyone was chanting USA, USA as they left the floor."
The team of 14 twirlers qualified for the 2023 World Baton Twirling Championships after winning, the Junior Show Twirl Corp event, as well as the National Artistry Award at the National Baton Twirling Association championships at the University of Notre Dame summer 2022.
The twirling team from Salina was the first team to perform in the Junior Show Twirl Accessory Corp event at this year's world baton twirling competition. Meis said the students played a major role in deciding what music they would use as part of their routine.
"Some of the girls started suggesting the music from the movie Tangled or Rapunzel and the joke was that I had not seen it yet," Meis said. "I like to have the girls give their input because it's their routine. It's their performance. And we are all in this together. So I rely heavily on them as well to share what it is they are feeling and what they see. Then I tie it all together with what I see as well in my choreography."
Emily Streeter, a member of the gold medal team, said the music the team used from Tangled was relatable to the audience and has universal appeal.
"Rapunzel has honestly been one of my favorite princesses of all time so it was really special for me to be able to be using that music and just how universal it is because Rapunzel can be translated into a whole bunch of different languages. The melodies are the same," Streeter said. "That story gets across to everyone, even throughout all of those countries."
Additionally, twirler Callan Hall individually represented Team USA in the discipline of three-baton.
"At our last nationals I got second out of our MBTA Federation. And so this whole past year, I've been working extra hard on my three baton, especially extra hard in the summer," Hall said. "I've been working on it, taking my new tricks, drilling them so that I could put my best out on the floor when time came to it."
Hall said her first preliminary performance on the largest stage she has ever performed on was "okay."
"My first routine that I did was preliminary and it was okay," Hall said. "It wasn't my best. I was a little disappointed afterward because I knew I could have done better. I worked hard. And I wanted another shot."
Hall said after completing her preliminary routine she began checking the competition's website to see if she had qualified for finals.
"I barely squeaked in," Hall said. "They took the top 10 And I got 10th. Not only had I made finals at the world competition, but to also have another chance to put my best out there."
And her best is exactly what she gave.
During Hall's final performance on the world stage in Liverpool, England, she didn't drop her baton; not once.
"I was so happy because it showed that my hard work in the summer, all throughout the year, paid off. And I knew that I put my best out there and that whatever happened placement-wise, I felt good about it," Hall said.
In the finals for the three baton discipline Hall placed 6th overall. She finished as the highest-ranked USA three-baton twirler in the junior age division.
"It was awesome to have the community's financial support as well as friends family, and their words of encouragement, and they definitely helped make it special," Hall said.
"Our friends, family, teachers, and our schools have been so supportive throughout all of this," Streeter said. "I walked into school on Monday, and I can't tell you how many staff members I had just go 'Hey, World Champion great job!'"
Streeter, one of Hall's most passionate and vocal fans said she ran across the arena in order to congratulate her teammate and friend.
"I'm literally her biggest fan ever. What can I say? I have never ran as fast as I did and the arena is huge. And I was like on the complete opposite side as her. I was sprinting through the hallways like people were moving out of my way. It was like a stomp sprint, like all of my legs just absolutely going because I had to go run, hug, and tackle her after that perfect routine," Streeter said.
Meis said Hall and Streeter's support and encouragement of one another are qualities demonstrated by all of her students.
"That's the beauty of the girls that I have. They are all there for each other, through the good and the bad," Meis said. "We're there to lift each other up and celebrate all of the accomplishments."
After winning gold across the pond, Meis said she is excited for marching season and other exciting things taking place at Shannon's Stars Twirling Club.
"We are so proud to be able to bring gold back to the United States, and to the community of Salina. Throughout the year, we've worked really hard with fundraising and practicing our routines," Meis said. "We roll right into marching season. We have nine different high school twirlers here in Salina for this year and so they are focusing on getting ready to start performing. We also are working on registration right now for our new year and our new classes that start in September. And so we're focusing on new thoughts, new themes, and new stars."
For more information regarding enrollment at Shannon's Stars Twirling Club, visit their Facebook page here.
Story originally posted on Sept. 5, 2023