UGA’s majorettes and feature twirlers’ competition team won the National Open Half-time Show Twirl Championships at the 2016 America’s Youth on Parade USA and World Twirling Championships held July 26-30 in South Bend, Indiana.
In addition to the team event, UGA’s feature twirlers, Jameson Kenerly and Miranda Williams, won the top two titles for individual collegiate competitors. Kenerly is the 2016 National Collegiate Twirling champion, and Williams is the 2016 National Downfield champion.
The UGA twirlers competed in two team events: a half-time routine, which is judged based on artistry and a dance-twirl routine, which emphasizes difficulty and intricacy of tricks. With these routines, the UGA twirlers are the 2016 Open Collegiate Half-time Show Twirl Team Champion and WOW award recipients for best choreography among collegiate teams.
UGA also was awarded the Michael Moore Choreography Memorial Award for outstanding choreography among all competition routines in the senior age division, the first time this award has ever gone to a collegiate team.
The UGA twirlers also placed first and third runner-up in large and small divisions of the senior dance twirl competition. The majorettes competed against teams from across the nation.
Kristina Howell, senior captain of the UGA Majorette line, won the Team Member of the Year award for leadership and performance among other competition teams.
Members of the majorettes and feature twirlers’ competition team include Carly Baker, a May graduate from Peachtree City; Kristina Howell, a senior from Monroe; Adeline Kenerly, a senior from Jesup; Jameson Kenerly, a senior from Jesup; Maisie Macknight, a sophomore from Calhoun; Jolie Meyen, a senior from Oglethorpe County; Valerie Miller, a senior from Monroe; Mikayla Moran, a sophomore from Oshkosh, Wisconsin; Mary Elizabeth Nipper, a junior from Jesup; Molly Pierson, a senior from Calhoun; Hallie Smith, a junior from Hazlehurst; Blake Terrell, a sophomore from Monroe; and Miranda Williams, a senior from Jesup.
Coaches Ashley Clark, Maureen Brannen, Julie Thacker Hayes, Colleen Murphy and Taylor Brown helped choreograph routines and prepare the twirlers for competition.
Kenerly and Williams competed against more than 70 other college twirlers for their titles.
The UGA majorettes and feature twirlers will perform Sept. 3 in the Georgia Dome with the Redcoat Marching Band at the first football game of the season against the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
