{"id":26589,"date":"2018-11-18T12:00:32","date_gmt":"2018-11-18T18:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=26589"},"modified":"2018-11-18T03:02:10","modified_gmt":"2018-11-18T09:02:10","slug":"meet-the-girl-who-twirls-fire-at-apsus-home-football-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2018\/11\/18\/meet-the-girl-who-twirls-fire-at-apsus-home-football-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet \u2018the girl who twirls fire\u2019 at APSU\u2019s home football games"},"content":{"rendered":"

Austin Peay State University (APSU)<\/h2>\n

\"AustinClarksville, TN<\/strong> – The way Izzy Melvin describes it, time slows down on the Austin Peay State University (APSU) football field.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou find this part of yourself, and you become one with the baton \u2013 everything is silent when you\u2019re on the field \u2013 it has always been me and my baton, it becomes an extension of yourself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Austin<\/a>

Austin Peay State University freshman feature twirler Izzy Melvin displays her three batons outside the APSU Art + Design building.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

You might know Melvin. She\u2019s the one who twirls fire during halftime at Austin Peay home football games. You know she\u2019s good, but do you know how good?<\/p>\n

Melvin won the national and world open three-baton championships in 2016 and the advanced three-baton Twirl Mania International Championships at Disney World the same year.<\/p>\n

And, yes, that\u2019s twirling three batons simultaneously (albeit not while they\u2019re on fire).<\/p>\n

This year she finished 16th<\/sup> at her first Collegiate Twirling Championships, competing for Austin Peay against 82 twirlers from universities across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople say, \u2018Hey, you\u2019re the girl who twirls fire, and I\u2019m like, \u2018Yeah, I am,\u2019\u201d Melvin said. \u201cThat\u2019s my little celebrity moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wisdom From A 17-Year-Old Baton Twirler<\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s another wow moment: Melvin didn’t turn 18 until after the 4:00pm game between Austin Peay and Murray State on Saturday, November 17th, 2018. Her birthday is on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>

An Austin Peay State University logo bedazzles Izzy Melvin\u2019s baton twirling uniform.<\/p><\/div>\n

But the youthfulness is deceiving. She has competed in baton twirling for 12 years, and she speaks with much more wisdom than typical 17-year-olds.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s evident when Melvin describes the moments before she performs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re in a stadium, people can\u2019t help but to look at you because you\u2019re that visual effect for the band, you\u2019re there for them to watch,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s my job.<\/p>\n

[320left]\u201cWhen I\u2019m on the field, I\u2019m usually really nervous before the start, then I hear my mom and my coach in my head,\u201d she added. \u201cI hear them say, \u2018Trust in your training,\u2019 and I think, \u2018If I mess up this time, it\u2019s not like I can\u2019t come out and prove myself the next time.<\/p>\n

\u201cFailure is always something we have to learn from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plus, her parents, Sheila and Tony Melvin, drive 8-12 hours every home game weekend to support her. After all, somebody (her mom) has to help her set the batons afire.<\/p>\n

From Grass Lake High To Austin Peay State University<\/h3>\n

As her high school days wound to a close, Melvin toured universities across the South. She craved warmer weather.<\/p>\n

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