Twirlers earn honors at competition

Photo

Neighbors | Submitted.Members of the Northern Strut Twirlers Team include (first row) Jessica Kozar  Adele Colonna, Cassidy Oyler, Jenna Benson (middle row) chuster, Kathryn Rosinski, Karlie Kowal, Madeline Crish (back row) Emmy Graffius, Shannon Chaffee, Anngel Benson, Megan Howard, Monica Mattiussi, Emily Combs and Alyssa Thomas. Missing from the photo is Katie Brown, Amanda Orr, Rebecca Platt, Meghan Susko and Jessica Yozwia.

Northern Strut twirling team members from all over the Valley earned high marks while competing at the Marching Auxiliaries Ohio Classic Regional Competition at Westerville Central High School, near Columbus.

Those making the trip included Monica Mattiussi (Austintown); Katie Brown, Shannon Chaffee, Megan Howard, Jessica Kozar, Cassidy Oyler, Kathryn Rosinski, Tara Schuster and Jessica Yozwiak (all of Boardman); Anngel Benson and Jenna Benson (Campbell); Adele Colonna, Amanda Orr and Alyssa Thomas (Canfield); Emmy Graffius (Ellsworth); Madeline Crish, Karlie Kowal, Meghan Susko (all of Poland) and Emily Combs and Rebecca Platt (Springfield).

In the team twirl category, Brown, Crish, Orr, Platt, Susko and Yozwiak received a Superior I rating and won the high school team twirl and were also awarded the Choreography Award, Best in Class Award, and Winner’s Cup for highest scoring auxiliary team routine.

The team twirl of Anngel Benson, Jenna Benson, Combs, Kozar, Oyler and Schuster received a Superior I rating and Choreography Award.

In the twirling ensemble division, Crish and Chaffee performed a dance twirl routine, which received a Superior I rating and won the senior ensemble division.

In the color guard solo category, all four performers received Superior I ratings and Graffius won the 11-12th grade division, Rosinski was first runner-up, Kowal was second runner-up and Thomas won the 9-10th grade division.

In the twirling solo category, all twirlers received a Superior I rating.

Performers who also earned placements are Yozwiak, high school winner; Howard, 11-12th grade winner; Rosinski, 11-12th grade first runner-up; Chaffee, 11-12th grade second runner-up; Mattiussi, 9-10th grade winner; Crish, 9-10th grade first runner-up; Oyler, 9-10th grade second runner-up; Colonna, Pre-K winner.

Northern Strut Twirling Teams, established in 1995, is a local twirling group that specializes in both recreational and competitive baton twirling, recreational and competitive flag twirling, and majorette/color guard preparation. Northern Strut is under the direction of Janet Gbur with flag instruction by Phemie Colonna and additional instruction by Katie Brown and Rebecca Platt.