All baton teams win beginner and advanced dance Twirl Team categories

 

 

Undefeated, earning six first places in Primary Dance Twirl in beginner and advanced NJ, NBTA and USTA championships, are Team Stars, from left, Jolene Chen of Cranford, Aubrey Soss Roselle Park, Giuliana Concetta Schultz of Roselle Park, Mikaela Dearin of Union and Everly Chen of Cranford.

 

The Burgundy Team, Team Shimmer, from left, Elle Peace of Union, Sofia Sermeno of Newark, Peyton Borges of South River, Vivienne Wyble of Union and Niyah Murphy of Union, won first place in Youth Dance Twirl at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships.

 

The Black Team, Team Radiance, from left, Meghan Charlton of Union, Jade Gelin Pierre of Union, Soleil Lopez of Union, Leyla Akin of Union, Madison Borges of South River and Natalynn Molina of Union, won first place in Junior Dance Twirl at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships.

 

Sofia Sermeno competed as a soloist at One Baton & Show Twirl at the Maryland Regional Mid-Atlantic Championships.

 

From left are soloists Giuliana Concetta, Mikaela Dearin and Everly Chen. Concetta won first place in Visitor Beginner One Baton Solo at the NBTA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, fourth place in Open Beginner One Baton Solo at the NBTA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships and the No Drop Award for All Catches in her Two Baton Routine at USTA Championships. Dearin won second place in Show Twirl NJ Open Contest in March for her routine to ‘Die With a Smile,’ performing her routine with one baton and a streamer. Chen won first place in Beginner Show Twirl at NBTA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships for her routine to ‘Dance the Night Away,’ performing a routine with one baton, two batons and dancing with a disco ball.

 

Diamondettes Baton and Dance LLC owner/director Nicole Marie Placca holds four of the many trophies her Diamondettes have won.

 

Giuliana Concetta won first place in Visitor One Baton Solo and fourth place in Open One Baton Solo.

 

Diamondettes Baton and Dance LLC owner/director Nicole Marie Placca, at right, stands with, from left, Cranford residents Paige Boidy, Grace Boidy and Saafia Arteaga. These brave girls decided to try a performance after only seven weeks! This is the Diamondettes’ ‘inner sparkle’ of confidence and self-worth that is instilled in these athletes.

 

Diamondettes Baton and Dance LLC owner/director Nicole Marie Placca holds a banner advertising her Diamondette Twirlers while at an event.

 

Diamondettes Baton and Dance LLC owner/director Nicole Marie Placca stands behind Aubrey Soss, who had just won second place for Show Twirl in an April contest.

 

A new team formed in January of all new members, Team Sparkle. They quickly meshed into a beautiful team and won second place at the USTA championships on Sunday, May 4. Pictured with Diamondettes Baton and Dance LLC owner/director Nicole Marie Placca are, from left, Bianca Bacek of Clark, Libby Sisk of Cranford, Lina Ljuljanovic of Roselle Park, Serayah Monroe of Roselle park and Emina Ljuljanovic of Roselle Park

UNION, NJ — Diamondettes Baton and Dance LLC has had a phenomenal season, culminating with their success at the National Baton Twirling Association’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships 2025 on Saturday, April 26, in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

“In a short amount of time, the accomplishments of this growing unique studio has been extraordinary,” said owner/director Nicole Marie Placca in a recent interview with LocalSource. “I built this program from the bottom up, following the dream I always had and my love for this amazing sport that has truly shaped my life as a child and as an adult.”

Team Stars, composed of Everly Chen, Jolene Chen, Aubrey Soss, Mikaela Dearin and Giuliana Concetta Schultz, had an undefeated season. With only a second year under their belts as a team, they won first place at every competition, earning six first-place trophies in the NJ Open State Contest, NBTA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships in Maryland and USTA State Championships Festival of the Future.

“I am so proud to continue the legacy of my former studio and keep the tradition going in the towns affiliated,” said Placca. “It means a lot having former twirlers from my old studio bring their children to me and carry on the tradition that I was once a part of and, most importantly, that made me who I am today!”

Three of five Diamondettes performance teams traveled to Maryland to perform at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships and Miss Majorette of D.C. NBTA – National Baton Twirling Association – Competition at Mount Saint Mary’s University: Team Stars, Team Shimmer and Team Radiance.

In addition to Team Stars, which was undefeated all season, Team Radiance – composed of Jade Gelin-Pierre, Natalynn Molina, Madison Borges, Meghan Charlton, Soleil Lopez and Leyla Akin – won first place in Junior Dance Twirl at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships and Team Shimmer – composed of Peyton Borges, Niyah Murphy, Sofia Sermeno, Elle Peace-Drewery – won first place in Youth Dance Twirl -at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships.

The following athletes competed as soloists at Maryland Regional Mid-Atlantic Championships: Niyah Murphy at One Baton & Show Twirl and Sofia Sermeno at One Baton & Show Twirl.

Other awards were won by Giuliana Concetta: first place in Visitor Beginner One Baton Solo at the NBTA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, fourth place in Open Beginner One Baton Solo at the NBTA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships and the No Drop Award for All Catches in her Two Baton Routine at USTA Championships.

Everly Chen won first place in Beginner Show Twirl at NBTA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships for her routine to “Dance the Night Away,” performing a routine with one baton, two batons and dancing with a disco ball.

Mikaela Dearin won second place in Show Twirl NJ Open Contest in March for her routine to “Die With a Smile,” performing her routine with one baton and a streamer.

Aubrey Soss won second place for Show Twirl at the April NJ Open Contest performing to “Hot to Go,” using elements of one baton and a hoola-hoop.

Jade Gelin-Pierre won a No Drop Award for All Catches in her One Baton Routine at USTA Championships and first place for One Baton Solo at NBTA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships.

Peyton and Madison Borges won first place for Duet at NBTA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships.

“This dynamic youth sport blends my experience as an educator of 15+ years into the world of coaching to provide a captivating learning experience for all students,” said Placca. “I’ve really spent a great deal of time using my experience as an educator to design class activities and effective instruction that incorporates social emotional learning. At the Diamondettes, we aim to build the child from within first, and make the sport adapt to each child.”

“At Diamondettes, we put the ‘I’ in individuality,” she continued. “The reason diamonds sparkle is because of the light on the inside projects outward. This is the same ‘inner sparkle’ that I polish in our students. When a child shines from the inside and is trained to use positive self-talk, normalize mistakes, expect set backs and learn that there is no one else like them, the hope is that their confidence builds and they develop a realistic sense of life and expectations.

“The mission at Diamondettes is to celebrate and embrace individuality in athletics and show all children that success is defined by their own needs and abilities, and not to the desired outcome of the team like the traditional performance youth sports teams.”

Diamondettes Baton and Dance LLC was recently awarded the township of Union Mayor’s Award. The studio and athletes received recognition from Mayor James Bowser Jr. at the Town Hall meeting. The program in general, in particular the Union residents, were acknowledged.

“In a world where we teach our kids that they are ‘special,’ often, going to a sports team and expecting one uniform outcome or the perfection of a skill is intimidating,” said Placca. “Children need to know that everyone’s path to achieving the goal is different and that their strengths should be highlighted.

“The intended outcome of attending competitions is just for the overall experience and to build confidence in our children. Watching new teams and new twirlers be able to perform a routine is a win in and of itself, but when they do achieve a placement, it is an added joy and proves all that they’re capable of, especially when we are a newly established program against long time, reputable programs and successful coaches who I grew up with and respect tremendously!”

Diamondettes Baton and Dance LLC was also recently awarded the Roselle Park Mayor’s Award. The studio and athletes were invited to be recognized by Mayor Joseph Signorello III in upcoming weeks at the Roselle Park Municipal Building.  

“Representing classes in many New Jersey towns, Diamondettes’ original formation began at Diamond Gymnastics Cranford and is one of our main locations, along with Sunburst Gymnastics in Union,” said Placca. “Our performance programs are run here. Representing all Diamondettes are students from every Union County town, including Summit, Newark, South River, Aberdeen and Short Hills.”

“Years ago, the infamous Miss Pat, a teacher in Roselle park, ran Patti’s Dolls Baton,” said Placca. “She was the reason why Union High School had a strong baton team and, until this day, I am proud to run this rare public school sport. It is an absolute honor to carry on her tradition of this unique sport in our communities.”

Photos Courtesy of Nicole Marie Placca