"I'm honored. There is no other word to describe it."
"I think this has been both of our goals, for our whole life of baton twirling, yes."
"We are not just marching in parades. It's so much more than that."
Words from three Western New York elite baton twirling champions, who are on their way to Lillehammer, Norway next month to compete in the Baton Twirling World Championships, as part of Team USA.
"I can't believe I made it this far,” Alexa Tamburlin said. “When I was little, starting from age 3, knowing that I've come this far and all the hard work has finally paid off. Achieving this goal is definitely one of the high points of my career."
All three teenagers qualified to be a part of Team USA at the National Finals at Notre Dame University last summer. Tamburlin, 16 of Amherst, and Miranda Proctor of Grand Island were the runners-up last year in the Duet category, so this time around, they were feelin' the pressure.
"Just about the minute right before you go out on the floor… Because you know how much hard work, you know how much it’s taken you to get to this level," Miranda said.
Miranda's younger sister, 13-year-old Morgan Proctor, also qualified for Team USA in the 2-baton category. A win that came as a surprise to her.
"My routine wasn't the best that I could do. And then, once I heard my last name, I was so happy that I could represent USA,” says Morgan.
All three of these young women share the same coach.
Williamsville's Kelli Krull Russell, a former National Champion, has coached winners from all over the country who have gone on to win international titles as well.
"Yes, I have done it before. I try to share that wisdom with them but just like you can imagine, they learn more from doing," Russell said
What these young women can do has taken over a decade to perfect and requires incredible dexterity, rhythm, acrobatics, exceptional hand-eye coordination and nerves of steel.
“It’s just like any other sport — they need to train in other areas. They need to do strength training, endurance training, dance training because any time you move your body while twirling the baton you get more points for it because it is more difficult," Russell said.
And all the time they invest in training and competing can pay off in a big way. Kelli Russell's daughter's, both of whom are also former national and international champions, were awarded scholarships to top universities. So as these three prepare for the world stage, it's also with an eye on that next big goal.
"I thought it would be going, making the World Team. But now, I think it’s doing very well — placing top 3 at Worlds — because I think that would be a great experience," Morgan said.
"So they're in for an experience that they have never had before... and memories that will last a lifetime," Russell said.