BELCHERTOWN — Coming off a year of regional and national honors in baton twirling, the Belchertown Twirlers started their competition season strong when two members earned first and second place in the Pre-teen Miss Majorette of Massachusetts Pageant.

In the three categories of solo twirling, strut and modeling with an interview, Delany Ochs, 11, took home first in two categories, earning her the title of Pre-Teen Miss Majorette.

Another team member, Emelia Maldanis, 12, scored first in the remaining category, receiving second place in the division and the title of Miss Majorette Royalty of Massachusetts.

Both girls now qualify to compete at the Miss Majorette of America competition in July.

“Belchertown did really well,” Belchertown Twirler Coach Kristi Ochs. “That was their goal going into it, was to qualify for nationals.”

The four other twirlers also placed in the other divisions. Everyln Maldanis, 9, won third in Beginner Juvenile Pageant; Quinn LaVallee, 13, ranked third in Beginner Solo; Mya Weise, 13, finished fourth in the Novice Junior Pageant; and Everly LaVallee, 7, came in fifth in Advanced Miss Sweetheart.

“This group of twirlers has really come together since we’ve come back from COVID because we’ve been really regrowing our program over the last few years,” Ochs said. “They work really well together.”

The Belchertown Twirlers is the competitive team associated with Belchertown Department of Recreation’s Baton Twirling program. Ochs also teaches classes on Sundays and Mondays for non-competitive twirlers when she’s not instructing the team or perfecting each girl’s solo routine.

The seven baton twirlers dedicate themselves to team and solo numbers, building new skills and learning new tricks to edge out the competition.

Their hard work paid off during the last season, too, when they danced their way to first in several team and solo divisions at the Massachusetts State Championships and Northeast Regional Championships. At the National Baton Twirling Championship last July, the western Massachusetts team became national winners in the Beginner Primary Small Twirl Team Division.

Ochs said each twirler has grown in the past few years, not only as individuals but as a group. Delany and Emelia, she said, are the leaders of the team, helping the younger twirlers out when they are lost on the floor.

“Quinn and Mya have really grown as twirlers and they’re really becoming leaders in their own way,” Ochs said. “Quinn has magic showmanship that sparkles. Mya joined after COVID and we’ve really seen her blossom since.”

The two youngest members, Evelyn and Everly, combined with the older girls into a new team after COVID, and while they still at the beginning of their baton twirling journey, they’re self-assurance blossoms with the support of the other twirlers.

The competition season requires traveling at least two weekends out of the month from January until May. Ochs hopes the girls continue to improve over the rest of the season, tightening up their routines and perfecting new skills they learned during the off-season.

“There’s a lot of competitions through this timeframe, so they aren’t only coming to solo practices every week but their also practicing on their own to reach goals that they’ve set for themselves,” Ochs said.

Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com.