On April 9, the United States Twirling Open spun into the city of Anderson, South Carolina. The competition was open to all ages and skill sets, featuring event categories such as solos, duets, struts, baton twirling and modeling.
Of the thousands of athletes that traveled to compete at the event, there were four majorettes who set out to represent ETSU with Buccaneer pride: Lexi Maust, Shelby Carmichael, Olivia Williams and Dakota Buckingham.
Alexandra “Lexi” Maust is a junior at ETSU, majoring in rehabilitative health sciences and minoring in communicative disorders. A Maryland native, Maust has been twirling for 16 years and describes it as “one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.” In addition to placing first alongside her teammates in the Collegiate Small Teams division, Maust was also named the 2021 Senior U.S. Grand Champion.
“The most rewarding part about competitions like the US Twirling Open is seeing all of my twirling friends that I’ve made over the years and being able to celebrate the success of all the hard work that we put in preparing for these competitions,” said Maust. “I’m so proud of my teammates for putting in the time, work and effort that we did to pull off this amazing routine.”
Shelby Carmichael is a freshman from Kodak, Tennessee, majoring in nursing. She, like her teammates, has been twirling for over a decade. She credits twirling to be “one of the most rewarding things that she has ever participated in,” and says that it has given her the opportunity to meet so many amazing people.
“My favorite part of attending the twirling open is leaving each one with a plethora of tricks and techniques to incorporate in my routines,” said Carmichael.
Olivia Williams is also a freshman. She is a Kingsport, Tennessee, native majoring in geosciences with a paleontology concentration. Through twirling, she has met some of her best friends and learned a variety of valuable life lessons. This was her first time attending the twirling open.
“The best part of the competition was getting to see so many incredible twirlers, as well as being able to support my teammates and cheer them on,” Williams said.
Rounding out the bunch is Dakota Buckingham, who is also a freshman from Kingsport, Tennessee. In addition to twirling, Buckingham keeps busy by participating in various forms of dance, such as ballet.
If interested in learning more about the ETSU Majorettes or how to audition, please visit @etsumajorettes on Instagram.
