Listen Here
By Pulse Staff and Sarah Rutledge
rutledges@findlay.edu
They dance, they sparkle, they shine, they dazzle the crowd with tricks, spins, and flourishes.
The University of Findlay majorette team, the Oilerettes, has grown consistently over the last few years and now boasts of 12 performers including nine on the majorette line and three feature twirlers.
All three of the featured twirlers, Sarah Lewis (captain), Abbi Cole (competition team captain), and Kylie MacDonald have been nationally recognized for their achievements in twirling.
Lewis, a senior intervention specialist education major from Avon, Ohio, has been on Team USA for individual competition as well as a second time for the World championships team competition, which is the highest level for a competitive twirler.
She has been to USTA Nationals every year since 2006 and has won more than 40 national titles. In 2019 she competed individually in the International Cup in Limoge, France and got 20th place. In 2024 she competed at the IBTF World Championships with her team, The Showtwirlers, where they placed 6th.
Freshman primary special education major MacDonald admires the captain of the feature twirlers and her world-class competitive background.
“She has represented our school at nationals in the collegiate competition,” MacDonald said. “She is extremely valued as a captain.”
Cole is a junior in the pharmacy program and has been part of the Oilerettes since her freshman year. She went to Shawnee High School in Lima but spent a majority of her life in Knoxville, Tennessee. Her teams won National Grand Champions in the twirl corps and show corps categories at AYOP and won silver in twirl corps and gold in show corps at the IBTF world championship.
Hailing from Miller Place, New York on Long Island, MacDonald said her twirling journey started with her sister.
“When I was about five or six, my parents took me along to my older sister’s twirling competition, and I wanted to try it out. Ever since then, I fell in love with twirling.”
MacDonald and her team competed at nationals then found out they qualified to compete internationally.
“When we [her team] found out we qualified to go, we were all crying and screaming,” MacDonald said.
“The opportunity to be a part of Team USA not only once, but twice, was an honor and such a rewarding experience,” MacDonald said. “I went to Limoges, France in 2019 and Liverpool, England in 2023.”
She has been to USTA Nationals several times as she has been competitively twirling for about 17 years now. Her team placed 7th out of 20 teams at the International Cup and 6th out of 22 teams at the Nations Cup.
“When you step on that stage, you feel all sorts of emotions,” MacDonald said. “You feel nerves, excitement, and a whole rush of emotions.”
The majorette line consists of Sierra Garcia (captain), Morgan Koenig (captain), Olivia Detrick, Claire Overley, Bree Fellows, Morgan Brown, Tate Fredritz, Raegan Serr, and Gracie Rodman.
A senior biology major, Koenig, has been twirling since sixth grade and was part of a local competitive team throughout high school.
“It has been such a breath of fresh air to twirl here at UF. Dr. [Wes] King [assistant professor of music and director of bands] involves us every day, and we fit in with the vision of the band.” Senior in the doctor of pharmacy program Olivia Detrick has not had the most traditional route to twirling.
“I joined a young twirling company when I was five. Then, the team sort of dismembered, and I didn’t twirl for several years,” Detrick said. “I started twirling again around the end of my sophomore year in high school. I started retaking lessons, and I knew that I would be interested in twirling in college.”
Her desire to be part of the pharmacy program and the twirlers meant Findlay was the best of both worlds for her.
The Oilerettes’ head coach, Tabitha Kirsch, became head of the program in August 2020.
“What started as just a dream has now been a solidified plan,” Kirsch said. “We are now an organized program within the school.”
Kirsch began coaching majorettes more than 10 years ago. With her comes experience and expertise within both competitive and collegiate twirling as a coach and judge with the World Twirling Association. She also owns Tea Time in Tiffin and works as a marketing consultant.
