Odessa 15-year-old makes nationals

Twirling is no longer just an accompaniment to school bands during halftime at football games.

For Mattison Torres, twirling is a sport in itself.

Mattison, 15, just won Miss Texas Majorette in the advanced division and is moving forward to nationals July 22 at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.

Mattison will be competing in the junior advanced division for the title of Miss Majorette of America.

Miss Majorette of America is similar in style to the Miss America contest - with modeling and an interview with judges.

The difference is that everyone's talent is twirling.

The competition includes a solo routine and a fancy strut, where twirlers are prohibited from releasing the baton while they walk across the floor in an "x" shape.

During the solo routine, the twirlers show how high they can throw and how hard they can twirl between 140 and 150 seconds. If the routine goes over or under the allotted time, points are deducted.

But the strain of competing isn't here yet, and Mattison can still bask in winning Miss Majorette of Texas.

"It's just an awesome experience when they called my name," Mattison said. "I got tears in my eyes."

"All your hard work has paid off," she said. "You get to go up there and wave and get your crown. Going to nationals is the cherry on top of that."

Mattison has been twirling since she was 4 years old. She got interested in twirling by watching her mother, Marlene Torres, teach other girls how to twirl in their garage.

"She'd watch me working with the other girls, and she said, ‘Mama, I want to do that,' " Marlene Torres said.

And she did. She fell in love with it, too, she said.

"And I've been twirling ever since," Mattison said.

And ever since, twirling has become more than a garage activity.

Mattison practices two to three hours daily and has earned 16 first-place wins in the novice, beginner and intermediate divisions combined before even tackling the advanced division at the Miss Majorette of Texas contest.

"Those first-place wins are hard to come by, because your competition is so strong," Marlene Torres said.

Mattison will face another set of tough competitors when nationals start July 22. Although she's been to nationals before, this is her first time entering in the advanced division.

 "It's like a whole new world in advanced," Mattison said. "Girls I'm competing against practice eight hours a day and go to twirling academies."

But Mattison isn't intimidated by the competition. It's the love of the sport that keeps her motivated.

"Whatever you accomplish, it's just an awesome feeling," she said. "It's just a great part of my life."

Mattison will continue to twirl into the school year at Odessa High, where she plans to be a featured twirler at pep rallies and basketball games.

"That's what we're hoping for. That's what I really want to do," she said. "It's something different that not everyone can do."

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