E.B. girl, 10, twirls her way to N.J. championship
BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer

Allie Warren

EAST BRUNSWICK - Her mom twirled a baton at the Rose Bowl, and if Allie Warren keeps going at this rate, she too may be twirling at Bowl games someday.

Allie, a 10-year-old student at Memorial Elementary School, recently won the New Jersey State Baton Championship in her age group. The event, held at the Rahway Recreation Center, sawAllie perform a 90-second routine without even one drop of the baton, according to her mom, Laurell. Allie took first place for novices competing solo. The National Baton Twirling Association (NBTA) ran the event.

Allie is following in her mom's footsteps, as Laurell twirled at the University of Michigan, which led to her performing at three Rose Bowl games and one Gator Bowl. Unfortunately for the football powerhouse, it lost all but one of those games.

Allie performed a complex routine, and despite the pressure of being watched by hundreds of people, Allie went mistake-free.

"It is highly unusual to do a routine without any drops," Laurell said. "She did a non-drop solo, which is amazing. I'm very proud of her."

The event required a routine that was at least a minute and a half and demonstrated a certain skill set. Both vertical and horizontal tricks had to be performed, as well as various types of rolls and finger twirls.

When Allie was done, the family was fairly confident she would take first place. The lack of drops was one reason, but so was the difficulty level for her routine. The scoring judge agreed, givingAllie the victory and a medal.

Aprivate teacher designed the routine forAllie around her strengths. Allie's good at spinning her body multiple times while the baton is in the air.

"For her age, or for anyone, it is a difficult trick," her mother said.

Allie began twirling at the age of 4, and has taken private and group lessons since. She competes as a soloist and group member with the Hazlet Thunderettes Baton Twirling Corp. Because East Brunswick schools have no baton program, Allie takes part in Hazlet's recreation program. The squad has five groups, and Laurell is a coach.

Allie, who practices about three times a week, previously won at the state championship event in the category for kids up to 6 years old, said Laurell, a former competitive twirler who competed in junior high and high school as well as college. Laurell said she taught Allie to block out the crowds when she is competing and just concentrate on the judge.

"It's kind of tough because you feel everyone's watching you," Laurell said.

Even though solo twirling is hard due to the performer being the focus of attention, Laurell said it's also tough to perform with a group because all the twirlers must be in perfect sync.

Looking back,Allie said even she was surprised at the lack of a single drop. She said she was so excited that when she was finished with the routine she wanted to "jump up and down and scream."