Christian Peterson
Reporter@riverbendnews.org
Audrey Felknor, a member of the Suwannee High School majorettes, is quickly proving herself to be a powerhouse in the baton twirling world. Although she only recently joined the Allstar Twirling Academy, she has proven to be someone to keep an eye on. From Tuesday, July 19 until Saturday, July 23, Felknor and her teammates from the academy competed in the National Baton Twirling Association National Championships at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.
Emotions ran rampant through her brain in the lead up to the event. “I was very nervous,” Felknor recalled. She hadn't even been with the Allstar Twirling Academy for year and had just begun competing. Felknor stated this was her first competition of such size, “so it was definitely intimidating!”
“I was the most nervous about how big the competition would be,” Felknor said. “My coach and my teammates, many of whom had been before, had tried to prepare me, but there’s just no way to prepare until you see it with your own eyes. There is nothing like it! I was also nervous about competing solo for the first time, especially at such a large competition.”
Despite her nerves, Felknor managed to compete well, both on her own and with her team. “During the competition I was extremely nervous, but I knew how hard we had trained all summer and that we were prepared,” Felknor said. She competed by herself in Solo and Solo Two-Baton divisions, then she joined her team in competing in Twirling Corps and Halftime divisions.
In fact, she performed so well that she ended up placing second overall in the Solo division and fifth overall in the Solo Two-Baton division. With those two placements, Felknor proved herself a powerhouse, but the achievements didn’t stop there. The Allstar Twirling Academy's Twirling Corps routine qualified the group for the World Championship. Next year, the group will travel to Liverpool, England, to represent the United States at the International Baton Twirling Federation World Baton Twirling Championship.
“After the competition, I was so proud of my teammates and myself! Competing at Nationals was a dream that I never thought would come true and I am still overwhelmed with gratitude that I was able to experience it,” Felknor said. In summing up her experience in one sentence, she said, “Hard work pays off.” In addition, she is humble in giving thanks to all the people who helped her achieve what she has.
“I’d like to thank my parents for always loving and supporting me. They always encouraged me to chase my dreams and I couldn’t do any of this without them,” Felknor said. She also wanted to give thanks to her little brother and sister, “who have sat through so many baton competitions and are my biggest hype squad and toughest critics,” as well as her “amazing coach, Mrs. June Stoeber with Allstar Twirling Academy, for believing in me and for giving me this opportunity. She and her entire family give themselves so selflessly and I have learned so much from her. Joining the Allstars has literally changed my life!”
She also wanted to extend her sincerest thanks to her Allstar teammates. “We worked so hard this summer, but it never seemed like work. We have so much fun together and I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else.” She then expressed her appreciation for Kary Black, her first baton coach who instilled a love of twirling in her and always encouraged her. To cap it off, Felknor also wanted to make sure to thank Pastor Ben Push of Westwood Baptist Church in Live Oak for “saving me from the crazy Florida heat by allowing me to use their indoor facilities to practice in this summer.”