Marie Kershaw’s baton twirling skills have taken her to the top of the sport.
Marie, 16, of Fenton, who is home schooled and takes classes at Jefferson College, was part of the Intrepid team that recently won first place in the Senior Small Twirl elite division at the 2023 U.S. National Baton Twirling Championships. The competition was held July 11-15 in Kissimmee, Fla.
By doing so well at the national event, Marie and her teammates qualified for the 2023 World Baton Twirling Championship and Nations Cup held Aug. 8-14 in Liverpool, England.
“Making it to the World Championships is a huge honor,” Marie said. “For the Elite Team, we have eight members and two alternates for the World Championships. I’m one of the main team members. I’ve competed at nationals before. It was my first time at the World Championships.”
Marie said each squad performs a routine at the competitions.
“Our routine is about three-and-a-half minutes long,” she said. “It has gymnastics and dance elements, along with baton twirling.”
Marie said the Intrepid team is made up of a collection of top baton twirlers from around the country.
“Intrepid is mainly based in Florida, in Tallahassee, but the team members are from all over,” she said. “We will get together to rehearse in Tallahassee or, sometimes, in Tennessee, where another of our coaches lives.”
Marie also competes in baton twirling as a member of the St. Louis Performance Academy. Both Intrepid and St. Louis Performance Academy are part of Team USA, which represents the country in international competition.
At the World Baton Twirling Championship and Nations Cup, Marie was part of different squads that participated in a variety of competitions, and she and her teammates won a silver medal as Junior Majorettes Parade Corps, reported her mother, Josephine Kershaw, Jefferson College’s dean of institutional effectiveness and equity. Other squads she competed with also gained recognition by finishing fourth in Artistic Team and Majorette Traditional Corps Junior and a 10th place for Artistic Group.
Since taking up baton twirling at age 6, Marie has been a five-time Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympic baton champion, gaining all-around titles and additional gold medals in solo and multi-baton events.
She is a featured performer at Seckman High School football games as well as at Jefferson College basketball games. In past years, she performed for the men’s and women’s basketball game half-time shows at North Arkansas College (Harrison, Ark.).
She was crowned the 2021 Majorette Princess of America, the highest title offered by the Drum Majorettes of America, her mother said.
“Marie is exceptionally talented, and she encourages other young people to take up baton twirling and build their skills, as she did,” Josephine said.
Marie said baton twirling gripped her 10 years ago and has kept her interest ever since.
“I like that it can be a creative outlet for me,” she said. “Pretty much every day, I’m at the gym, drilling.”