Student twirls way to national baton competition

Moriah Muscaro, the feature twirler for the Laker Marching Band, has been twirling batons since she was 5 years old. She was named Miss Majorette of Michigan in May and attributes her title to years of dedication and experience as a baton twirler.

A biomedical sciences major from Walled Lake, Muscaro will compete at the weeklong National Baton Twirling Competition at the University of Notre Dame in August, where 5,000 twirlers will compete.

Muscaro said twirling runs in the family. “My mom, aunts and both grandmas were twirlers,” she said. “I twirled in high school and knew I wanted to twirl in college. I chose Grand Valley because I want to go into medicine and Grand Valley had a great pre-med program, plus it’s near the Medical Mile.”

Muscaro heard about Grand Valley and the Laker Marching Band during her junior year of high school. She sent John Martin, associate director of bands and director of Athletic Bands, an audition tape to become part of the Laker Marching Band.

“When Moriah auditioned, I was completely overwhelmed with her talent, professionalism and personality,” Martin said. “She finished her audition routine by twirling four batons at once! This is something that very few people in the country can do with technical and artistic ability. I knew immediately that she would be a tremendous asset to the Laker Marching Band and Grand Valley.”

During the school year, Muscaro, a sophomore, can be found in the Rec Center every day practicing routines and performing at football, basketball and lacrosse games. During the summer, Muscaro teaches classes at Twirl-M’s Baton Twirling Group, the baton twirling company her family owns. “I love teaching little girls how to twirl and really enjoy passing the sport on,” she said.