OSU baton twirlers reflect on successful summer competitions; excitement for upcoming football season

It was a big summer for the Oklahoma State University baton twirlers, competing and placing at both national and world championships.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Jaidyn Poole won a bronze medal in Italy at the world championships, competing for Team USA.

"I went in with the goal of making the podium so I was super happy to medal,” said Poole. “I was up there with the top three, we're all from the U.S., so some pretty tough competition, but I was super excited to go and rep OSU there and just the U.S.A in general, it was an amazing experience."

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

At the national championships in South Bend, Indiana, Callan Hall picked up several top five and top 10 placements against nearly 100 other college twirlers.

"I have grown up watching the collegiate twirlers perform at Nationals and get to represent their college,” said Hall. “And that's something that I've truly looked forward to my entire life."

SOPHOMORE YEAR

Now, the girls are back in Stillwater and ready to take on their sophomore year and return to performing on the field.

"Getting some games under your belt and really understanding your role in the university that you're representing, it truly just fuels your body and all the adrenaline comes out and it's an amazing experience,” said Hall.

"I think you just have a year under your belt, you feel a little bit more comfortable with it,” said Poole. “So I think I'm almost a little bit more excited just to kind of know what to expect and feel a little bit more confident in putting my best foot forward."

TEAMMATES

Both girls say the world of college twirling is pretty hard to break into because most teams only have one twirler.

"When we tried out for this school, it was only a one twirling, one twirler position,” said Hall. “So when we found out after we got the call that we made it, we found out that we both made it, and I was so excited because I didn't know anybody here."

"We're both really grateful that we have each other and they ended up taking two,” said Poole. “We have a really special bond, and I'm really grateful for her."

JAIDYN’S STORY

Poole comes to Stillwater from Katy, Texas, a suburb of Houston.

She knew she wanted to be a twirler when she saw one perform at a football game.

"We have about nine high schools in our district, but only one of them had a twirler at the time,” said Poole. “When I went to the games, I would see her, and I was really intrigued by it. So I was like, I want to do that. That girl's mom ended up owning a studio and I started taking lessons."

Poole says she has a strong dance background and that reflects in her twirling style.

CALLAN’S STORY

Hall comes to Stillwater from rural Kansas. Her father was a high school football coach and she enjoyed watching the twirlers on Friday nights.

“I would go to every single one of his games,” said Hall. “My favorite part was during halftime when the twirlers would perform. I looked at my mom, and was like, ‘I want to do that. That’s awesome. I would bring my baton after I started and twirl on the field afterwards, like little girls do, until they would shut the stadium lights off and I would have to get kicked out.”

Hall comes from a background in competition twirling.

THE NEXT GENERATION

Both Hall and Poole say they love taking pictures with and talking to all the fans that are interested in what they do.

They hope their stories will inspire the next generation of kids to pick up the baton.

"You hear a lot of no's, but you just have to know that's your dream, you got to keep going and keep pushing and eventually you're going to end up where you're supposed to, so just trust the process,” said Poole. “Always keep a positive attitude."

"It's truly rewarding kind of being on the other side of that now and getting to realize that, oh these girls actually really look up to us like we did to older girls before us,” said Hall.