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PITTSBURG —
Megan Munger, 12, may have started small, but the Pittsburg Community Middle School student has big dreams and goals.
The daughter of Rebecca and Tim Munger, she was born at 24 weeks, weighing in at 1 pound, 14 ounces and measuring just 13 inches. Munger spent 92 days at Hillcrest Medical Center before her family could take her home.
Now she’s an honor roll student, a talented and dedicated twirler and recently won the title of 2012 Pre-Teen Miss Sunflower of Kansas at the Kansas state twirling championships.
Munger said she competed in nine events at the Kansas state championships.
“I had to do elegant modeling in order to do a solo,” she said. “I’ve done team competition before, but this was my first year doing a solo. I’ve had a really successful year.”
Munger explained that she has participated in numerous Missouri competitions, but in the open division. Because she lives in Kansas, she cannot compete for Missouri state titles.
Also, because it was her first year, she did not qualify to compete at nationals, despite the fact that she did win a Kansas state title. However, there’s always next year.
“There are four divisions, novice, beginner, intermediate and advanced, and I’ve moved from novice to beginner now,” Munger said.
She has also done non-competitive twirling, performing at PCMS basketball halftime shows and at a pep assembly. Munger is disappointed that the school does not have a majorette, and would like to change that.
She has twirled at Ovation Studios, Carthage, Mo., for the past two years.
“I started with Beth’s Batoners and twirled with them until Beth quit in 2007,” Munger said. “Then I was off for two years because I couldn’t find another place. There’s Sunflower Studio in Riverton, a couple of studios in Wichita and Salina and a lot in Kansas City.”
Her fascination with twirling started very early.
“I saw the girls in a parade, watched them twirling and wanted to do that,” Munger said.
Her mother said that Munger first tried her hand with the little plastic batons that were sold at Walmart.
“We had those batons all around the house,” Mrs. Munger said.
There will likely be batons around the house for years to come, but not toy ones. Munger intends to keep studying, practicing and competing. She has a solo coach at Ovation Studio who creates her solo routines according to strict guidelines.
Megan Munger, 12, may have started small, but the Pittsburg Community Middle School student has big dreams and goals.
The daughter of Rebecca and Tim Munger, she was born at 24 weeks, weighing in at 1 pound, 14 ounces and measuring just 13 inches. Munger spent 92 days at Hillcrest Medical Center before her family could take her home.
Now she’s an honor roll student, a talented and dedicated twirler and recently won the title of 2012 Pre-Teen Miss Sunflower of Kansas at the Kansas state twirling championships.
Munger said she competed in nine events at the Kansas state championships.
“I had to do elegant modeling in order to do a solo,” she said. “I’ve done team competition before, but this was my first year doing a solo. I’ve had a really successful year.”
Munger explained that she has participated in numerous Missouri competitions, but in the open division. Because she lives in Kansas, she cannot compete for Missouri state titles.
Also, because it was her first year, she did not qualify to compete at nationals, despite the fact that she did win a Kansas state title. However, there’s always next year.
“There are four divisions, novice, beginner, intermediate and advanced, and I’ve moved from novice to beginner now,” Munger said.
She has also done non-competitive twirling, performing at PCMS basketball halftime shows and at a pep assembly. Munger is disappointed that the school does not have a majorette, and would like to change that.
She has twirled at Ovation Studios, Carthage, Mo., for the past two years.
“I started with Beth’s Batoners and twirled with them until Beth quit in 2007,” Munger said. “Then I was off for two years because I couldn’t find another place. There’s Sunflower Studio in Riverton, a couple of studios in Wichita and Salina and a lot in Kansas City.”
Her fascination with twirling started very early.
“I saw the girls in a parade, watched them twirling and wanted to do that,” Munger said.
Her mother said that Munger first tried her hand with the little plastic batons that were sold at Walmart.
“We had those batons all around the house,” Mrs. Munger said.
There will likely be batons around the house for years to come, but not toy ones. Munger intends to keep studying, practicing and competing. She has a solo coach at Ovation Studio who creates her solo routines according to strict guidelines.
“You have a time limit and you have to have a certain number of tricks,” Munger said. “This past year, I’ve done one-baton solos, and I want to get into two-baton, three-baton and flag baton.”
It takes hard work and discipline, not to mention a supportive family who drives her to Carthage every Thursday for her lessons.
“You have to be very focused to be a baton twirler,” Munger said.
She regrets that twirling isn’t as popular as it used to be, and that’s something else she’d like to change.
“As I progress in twirling, I want to carry it on, progress it and encourage more people to twirl in southeast Kansas,” Munger said. “I want to bring the sport back.”
Now heading for the eighth grade at PCMS, she plans on twirling in college and dreams of having her own twirling studio some day.
“I’m very focused on going far with my life,” Munger said.
In addition to her proud parents, she’s also cheered on by paternal grandmother Ethella Jean Ryburn, who was a twirler when she was young, and by nanny Donna Meadows.
