Purdue News
Purdue News
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April 20, 2004 Identical twins to twirl as Purdue's Silver Twins in 2004-05Christy Jayne Stallings retains Golden Girl crown for 50th celebration yearWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – For the first time in more than a decade, identical twin twirlers will fill the roles of the Silver Twins during the 2004-05 Purdue University football season.
Megan and Morgan Von Dielingen, Purdue freshmen from Seymour, Ind., were selected to twirl as the Silver Twins with the Purdue "All-American" Marching Band following the band's annual solo twirler competition on Saturday (4/17).
Christy Jayne Stallings, a sophomore from Johnston City, Ill., retained her title as Purdue's 24th Golden Girl. Tierney Brown, an incoming freshman from Bloomington, Ind., won the title of Girl in Black and replaces graduating senior Krista Woodward of Waterford, Mich. David Leppla, director of Purdue University Bands, made the announcement of the 2004-05 solo twirlers Saturday (4/17) in the Elliott Hall of Music at the end of a day of competition that included field tryouts and personal interviews.
The four women won their titles out of a field of 11 competitors from New Jersey, Ohio, Illinois, California and Indiana. For the Von Dielingen (pronounced Von-DILL-ling-gen) twins, the second time proved to be a charm. The two auditioned in 2003 but were not prepared for the level of competition they encountered. "It took a lot of courage to come back. This time we had a lot more confidence," said Morgan, the younger of the twins (by six minutes). The pair worked with a twirling coach to prepare for the competition. Megan is majoring in hospitality and tourism management and Morgan in communications. Before they make their debut at Purdue, the Von Dielingen twins will make their debut at the 2004 Summer Olympics as clog dancers. This year marks the first time clog dancing will be included as a sport, and the twins – who have appeared as clog dancers at the Orange Bowl, Disney World and in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade – have been chosen to compete. After that's over "we're looking forward to having fun on the field" at Ross-Ade Stadium, Megan says. "Exactly," Morgan adds. Stallings, a physical education major, brings an impressive resume to Purdue's top twirling position. She's been a National Baton Twirling Association competitive twirler for 20 years, a world champion in two baton, and a national champion in two baton, three baton and flag baton. "Just knowing that I'll be representing 50 years of Golden Girl tradition this fall is unbelievable and outstanding," says Stallings, whose dream to become a Purdue Golden Girl started when she was a child. Girl in Black Tierney Brown, who will study marketing and human resources in Purdue's Krannert School of Management this fall, also set her sights on being a Purdue twirler when she was younger. Her parents, both Purdue graduates, brought Tierney to her first football game as a toddler. "I could have cared less about the football players," Brown says. "I looked out on the field and saw the solo twirlers and said that was what I was going to do. And I stuck with it." Her father Ed Brown, a 1973 Purdue graduate, played trumpet in the "All-American" Marching Band, as did her older brother J.T., who graduated in 2002. When Tierney was growing up, the family lived in Lafayette. Her first performance as a twirler came when she was 3 in the Lafayette Christmas Parade. All of Purdue's solo twirling positions have a long heritage on the West Lafayette campus. The Golden Girl dates to 1954 and will be honored with a string of special events in the fall of 2004. The Girl in Black position dates to 1962, and the Silver Twins to 1960. Al G. Wright, former Purdue band director and professor emeritus, created the Silver Twins for identical twin sisters Sharon and Karon Roeske. In recent years, finding talented twirler twins has been difficult. The last twin sisters to hold the position were Lisa and Rene Rhoads of Peru, Ind., who twirled in 1990-91 and 1991-92. Since then, the position has been filled by unrelated twirlers interested in the challenge of performing as a duo. Over the years Purdue's Golden Girl has enjoyed a national reputation as one of the top twirlers in the United States. Wright began the tradition when the media referred to quarterback Lenny Dawson as Purdue's Golden Boy. Wright put gold sequins on Juanita Carpenter and named her the Golden Girl, beginning the Purdue tradition. Golden Girl No. 24 Christy Stallings and the other solo twirlers will make their first appearance with the Purdue "All-American" Marching Band (barring any schedule changes) at the Sept. 5 Syracuse game in Ross-Ade Stadium. Writer: Kathy Matter, (765) 496-6785, kcmatter@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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