Golden Girl earns bronze medal in World Twirling competition

Monday, April 13, 2009

 

Twirling to medley of Madonna’s “Material Girl” and Marilyn Monroe’s “Diamond’s Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” Purdue Golden Girl Merriebeth Cox, placed third in the finals of the World Twirling Championships in Belgium on Sunday to earn a bronze medal.

The freshman from Roselle, IL, is slated to return to campus late today following a week of competition in Europe.

“Merriebeth’s commitment to excellence has allowed her to achieve this monumental goal. She is a wonderful ambassador for Purdue and has set a new standard for our Golden Girl twirling position. We are extremely proud of her,” says Jay Gephart, director of the Purdue “All-American” Marching Band. 

In preparation for Sunday’s solo twirler finale, the field of competing twirlers was cut to six on Saturday.  “That in itself was a tremendous accomplishment and was Merriebeth’s personal goal before leaving,” says Alisha Kuckartz, who coaches the twirlers as Auxiliary Director for the “All-American” Marching Band.

Being selected to be part of Team USA was also an honor. “Each country takes their top three competitors to the Worlds so thatwas huge for Merriebeth and Purdue,” Kuckartz adds.

Attending the World Championships meant Cox had to audition to keep her position as Golden Girl prior to the official Solo Twirler tryouts held on April 4. She was a unanimous choice to retain her title as Purdue’s 27th Golden Girl. Cox first topped all competitors as an incoming Purdue student to earn the Golden Girl title in 2008.

 

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