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Baton champs head to Italy Girls who twirl
Photo
Local twirlers headed to Italy for upcoming competetion are from left: Isabella Rexroad, 8, Claudia Swauger, 12, Jillian Swauger, 15, Marissa Pierce, 12, and Analise Powell, 10. Photo by: William D. Lewis| The Vindicator
By JoAnn Jones
Five area baton twirlers, ranging from age 8 to 15, will be living a dream when they compete in the 2015 World Federation of Baton Twirling championships in Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy, in April.
They are five of only 36 girls selected to represent the United States at the competition, which will include twirlers from 20 other countries.
Isabella Rexroad, 8, of Niles; Analise Powell, 10, of Champion; Marissa Pierce, 12, of West Middlesex; Claudia Swauger, 12, of Niles; and her sister Jillian Swauger, 15, also of Niles, qualified for the competition July 21 through 26 at the National Baton Twirling Championships at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.
All five are students of Kathy Harris, who teaches baton twirling in Beaver Falls.
Jillian Swauger, the daughter of Terry and Kellee Swauger, has studied with Harris for four years and will attend her third-consecutive world competition, which takes place every three years.
“I’m just so excited to go to Italy,” Jillian said. “I went to Belgium in 2009 and Switzerland in 2012. This time I’m on a team, and I’m the only one of Kathy Harris’ girls on that team. The rest are all from Oregon and Maryland.”
Jillian, a sophomore at Niles McKinley, is the feature twirler for the band and is a cheerleader. She runs track and is a member of Key Club. She also dances but does not do that competitively.
“I’m looking forward to seeing another country and seeing the people I met last time,” Jillian said. “I also want to meet some new people.” Jillian will travel with her parents and sister Claudia, who qualified as part of a duet.
Claudia, who also was a qualifier for the Switzerland world championships three years ago, said she’ll practice with her coach once a week to prepare for the competition, but she, like her sister, will practice on her own.
“I’ll practice on my own seven days a week at the [Niles] Wellness Center,” Claudia said. The straight “A” student also plays soccer and is a cheerleader at Niles Middle School.
“I usually meet people from the United States,” she said, “but I want to make new friends from other countries. I really want to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, too. That’s what I want to see most.”
Claudia’s duet partner in the 10-to-12 age group, Marissa Pierce, said she’ll practice with the group but also will take private lessons to prepare.
“Claudia and I have been partners since age 6,” said Marissa, the daughter of Ann Marie and Drew Pierce. “We only live about 30 minutes apart so we can get together easily.” This is just her second year with Harris as her coach.
“I’m a junior high cheerleader, and I also dance ballet and jazz,” she said, “but twirling is my favorite.”
“I’m also a skier,” added the seventh-grader at West Middlesex High School. “I’ve been skiing since I was about 2. We have a condo in Holiday Valley, N.Y., and go about every weekend in the winter.”
Marissa said she is looking forward to trying some Italian food.
“I want to try some Italian pasta and pizza because it’s different,” she said.
Analise Powell, the daughter of Cathy and David Powell of Champion, came in first in her age division, which allows the top three qualifiers to go to the world championship.
However, her participation was in jeopardy for several months.
“I had a bone infection, osteomyelitis, in December,” Analise said. “My left heel started hurting. I had to have an IV, an MRI, and surgery.”
Analise ended up having five surgeries and was out of school, the JFK Lower Campus, for more than two months, her mother said.
“It was an uphill battle for a while,” Powell said. “She didn’t get back to twirling until the end of March.”
“Even though I couldn’t twirl for several months, I practiced pretty hard and took a lot of time,” Analise said. “I felt good after my performance, and I wanted to place one or two.”
“I was really excited and happy when I found out I won because I knew I was going to Italy,” she said with a smile.
Analise, who also dances competitively and plays the clarinet, said she is looking forward to visiting Rome and the Vatican. She has already started earning money for her trip by making mini potholders that she sells to her family and friends and by having a lemonade stand last summer.
The youngest of the group, Isabella Rexroad, placed third in the 7-9 age group in which Analise placed first. A third-grader at Niles Intermediate School and another competitive dancer, Isabella said she was hoping for the top three that day at Notre Dame.
“It was grandma’s birthday, and she asked me for one thing: for me to go to Italy,” Isabella said. “And I did. My great-grandma’s mom used to live in Italy, and my great-grandma told me all about it.”
Isabella, the daughter of Kana and Michael Rexroad, was slightly concerned because she would be missing Easter at home when she’s in Italy in April.
“I’m missing Easter?” she said anxiously.
According to Isabella’s mother, the financial burden of the Lignano Sabbiadoro trip is entirely on the families of the girls. The city is located on the Mediterranean Sea about an hour from Venice and five hours from Rome, which the families plan to visit.
“It’s up to the girls and their families to carry through financially, and we are responsible for all costs,” Rexroad said. “The NBTA [National Baton Twirling Association] doesn’t pay for any of it.”
The parent group has set up a 501(c)(3) nonprofit account, Twirling Stars Inc., so that anyone who donates to the girls’ trip can deduct their taxes. Donations can be sent to the Twirling Stars at 1480 Butterfield Circle, Niles, OH, 44446.
The families are sponsoring a casino bus trip to Presque Isle in Erie on Nov. 2 to raise funds, while they also are planning a pancake breakfast. The girls also will perform during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays for a donation.
“We’re very excited about their accomplishment,” Rexroad said. “It’s scary in a way, though, thinking about there are only so many girls who have this opportunity.”