Our Taylorsville Chiron’s have been doing an amazing job this season, winning 3rd in show in their latest competition, as well as 4th in dance and military. They continue to work their hardest as they prepare for competitions to continue. Our drill seniors are trying to soak in every moment before they graduate.

Taya Shaw

Taya Shaw, Taylorsville Drill Captain and 2020 Taylorsville Drill VIP, has loved the sport ever since she was six-years-old when she participated in mini drill with her aunts. When she finally had the opportunity to try out for the high school drill team, she was ecstatic. 

“I mainly had lots of encouragement and lots of people in my life who were connected to the drill world,” Shaw said. “Through those individuals and the love they had for drill it really inspired me and pushed me to continue my heart work to be on this team.”

Taya often finds drill to be her outlet for when she’s stressed and enjoys the release it provides. “I was thankful that I finally had a safe space to be at,” said Shaw. “Drill truly saved my life and I am constantly grateful for it.”  

Taya hopes to continue a career in dancing at Southern Virginia University after serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Ashlynn Seegmiller

Ashlynn has also been looking forward to drill ever since she was younger, but was especially motivated by her Dance Company coach in eighth grade. “I have always looked up to those kinds of teams ever since I was little,” Seegmiller said. “It has always been my dream to be on a team like this one so I went for it and tried out.”

Through drill, Ashlynn has been able to learn the strength of resilience and how to keep going even through tough times. It can be hard to balance schoolwork and a sport as intense as drill, but Ashlynn still tries to look for as many positives as she can. 

“I hope that I can learn to have fun with it and live in the moment. To always do my best,” Seegmiller adds. “I want to believe in myself and what I can do. I hope I can take all the different things I have learned and apply it to my own life and future.”

Grace Loertscher

Grace decided to join drill to advance in her love for dancing. Her biggest accomplishment took place in her sophomore year, when the drill team earned third in show. “It was shocking to everyone on the team and it felt like we had just won. It showed me that you don’t have to get 1st place to be a winner,” she said. 

Grace has learned the importance of bouncing back after you fall. When working on an aerial she sprained her ankle and was no longer able to dance. Having to sit on the sidelines and watch her team helped her realize the amount of effort that goes into drill. “The biggest thing I learned from it though is probably how hard I still worked. And how hard I am still working. It taught me a different type of work ethic.”

Grace hopes to continue dancing throughout her life and career. She looks forward to the joy it will continue to bring.

Carly Garcia

Carly tried out for drill just for fun and as a spur of the moment idea. She was shocked when she made the team, but she is grateful she decided to try out and was given this opportunity.

When Carly started out, she didn’t love drill as much as she had hoped. It was hard work and very time consuming, but her coach has played a major role in keeping her motivation and finding her love for the sport.

“Carly, Drill is all a mental game, it is hard, but it is only hard when you make hard on yourself,” Coach Jessica Dove told her. “I know with just a little bit of my help, you can and will reach your full potential, you just need to give it a chance.”

After that Carly was determined to work hard to be her best. Since then Carly has had many accomplishments and made it into many routines and dances. “It was at that moment I took all my hurt and stubbornness and turned it into power,” she said.

The hardest part in Carly’s drill life was when she broke her hand in a car accident one week before competition. She could no longer compete because of it. “I have been through fire and back being on this team,” Garcia said. “I have spent blood, sweat, tears, broken bones I have left on that floor, so it really hurts when things don’t go your way.” However, Carly was able to recover after her injury to go on to compete this year. 

Although Carly doesn’t exactly know what her future will hold, she knows that she wants dancing to be a part of it. “I don’t have my life planned out and have no clue what I want to do, but I really would love to coach girls in the future for dance,” she said. “I think that it is a very competitive sport that can tear people down, and I would love to be the one to change that.”

Michelle Soto

Michelle was motivated to try out for the drill team by her friends. “I actually didn’t want to try out because I felt as if I wasn’t good enough or didn’t fit into the stereotype of a ‘drill girl,’” she said. “I was sure I wasn’t going to make it.” However, now that she is on the drill team, Michelle has learned many things about herself, dance, and others.

“I’ve definitely grown a lot as a person and dancer being on drill,” Soto said. “I’ve been pushed farther than I thought I could ever go and have been able to do things I never thought I could such as turn, aerials, confidence, etc.” 

Drill has also taught Michelle the value of kindness. During drill competitions, the team is judged on a category of showmanship. “This shows us to be nice and respectful towards everyone and it’s something that changes us to be better outside of drill as well,” commented Soto.

Michelle not only hopes to continue dancing throughout her career, but also to improve her mental and physical well being. She plans to continue her dance studies in college.

TahTianna Walton

TahTianna began dancing in South Carolina where she used to live. She eventually moved to Utah and saw a drill team perform at a football game. It was then when she fell in love with the sport and knew she wanted to try out. She had much support from her family and she continues to have their support everyday.

Through drill, TahTianna has learned confidence, endurance, and determination. “I never thought that I could do the things that we do in drill like run for so long or practice all day. It’s definitely helped me build more as a person,” she said. “Now I never say I can’t do something until I’ve tried it.”

TahTianna has also seen the importance of acceptance and combating stereotypes as she works with her team. “As it may be known there are only three black people on the drill team, me being one,” Walton said. “From others I hear that we stand out too much or don’t have uniforms or costumes that fit our skin color, and hairstyles we do are not fit for my hair. I can say our coach, Jessica, has been very helpful this year with getting things that match our skin color.”

TahTianna feels as if there is just not enough time left, and will miss drill immensely once she’s graduated. 

Sariah Johnson

Sariah became interested in drill when she attended the “Taste of Taylorsville” her freshman year. She has always loved dancing and felt as if she has grown both as a dancer and as a person since she joined drill. 

“Drill is a fun experience for dancers who have the will to work hard and be seen,” Johnson said. However, being an athlete in high school isn’t always easy. “Sometimes drill’s schedule gets super busy and it definitely can affect my school work but I always get caught back up.”

Sariah plans to keep drill in her life after high school by auditioning for the majorettes at HBCU and also wants to major in Criminology.

Narah Etuk

Narah is a self taught dancer who discovered drill when she was on her junior high dance team. At first, Narah was afraid to try out because of the unique dances in drill that she wouldn’t be used to. “I’ve learned now that sometimes, different is better than what you’re used to,” she said. 

“As a self taught dancer, I grew to achieve skills such as bettering my technique, being more expressive and feeling comfortable with myself and my dancing,” Etuk said. “This has only made me feel prouder as a performer of this art […] and seeing the growth has been such a rewarding experience.”

Narah’s motto, “everyone starts somewhere”, has helped her with the tremendous amount of growth she has seen throughout her three years of drill. “My first year I was still new to the drill world and seeing how everyone had background and the skills I hadn’t yet even attempted once took a toll on my mental health. I wasn’t necessarily sad, but I wanted to be better,” Etuk expressed. “But telling myself that ‘everyone starts somewhere’ is what kept me going.”

Narah hopes to continue choreographing dances and creating pieces for future dancers and drill members. 

As the drill season comes to a close, our seniors prepare to say goodbye to the sport they’ve loved for so long. We wish the drill team well in their next competitions and whatever their futures may hold.