Britney Berry won a gold medal in two-baton and a silver medal in three-baton at the 2025 Nations Cup in in Turin, Italy.

ALYSSA JOHNSON

Lincoln Journal Star

LINCOLN -- Britney Berry wasn't always interested in twirling batons. Despite encouragement from her mom, Berry decided to try every other sport she could think of before she was finally mesmerized watching her cousin's baton recital at 10 years old.

Now 22, Berry had the opportunity last week to represent Team USA at the International Baton Twirling Federation Nations Cup in Turin, Italy, where she earned a gold and silver medal for her events.

"It's like the Olympics for baton," Berry said. "You dream of this your whole life. When you get to represent Team USA, it's just so amazing."

The Nebraska native grew up in Omaha and twirled with the Stepperettes before moving south, where she spent three years as the feature twirler for Florida State. When a twirling opportunity opened up at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Berry knew she wanted to come back home.

"UNL is my dream school," Berry said.

While performing as a collegiate twirler, Berry also tried qualifying for the national competition twice before, but each time fell slightly short. Finally in January, her dream came true after qualifying through the National Baton Twirling Association in South Carolina.

"When they called my name saying that I qualified, I was just in disbelief," Berry said. "It was just so surreal. All the years of hard work paid off."

For the Nations Cup, Berry said each country is allowed to enter four people per category. She qualified in two adult individual events.

While finishing up the school year, Berry spent 15 to 20 hours a week practicing. By summer, she weekly exceeded 20 hours. She's also continued taking lessons over FaceTime as her two coaches, Cheryl and Karrissa Wimberley, live in Tallahassee, Florida.

After arriving in Italy, Berry won first place during the preliminary rounds for the two-baton and three-baton advanced women category allowing her to move to the finals with the top 10 competitors.

"My goal was just to make it to finals," Berry said. "I remember doing prelims, being out on that floor for the very first time and it was a bit nerve-wracking ... but I didn't let nerves get to me. I just said, 'Trust your practice, you can do it.'"

Ultimately, Berry won gold in the two-baton and silver in the three-baton.

"It just feels surreal. It's just amazing," Berry said. "There's always going to be setbacks, injuries here and there, there's always going to be times where you tried hard, but it didn't go your way, and that's OK."

While it was mentally challenging and required a lot of sacrifices, it was ultimately all worth it. And who knows, maybe in two years she'll try again for the next competition.

In the meantime, Berry's schedule has far from calmed down back in Lincoln. Last Sunday, she started her second year at band camp for the Cornhusker Marching Band as the feature twirler.

"I just love the Cornhusker Marching Band and I love twirling for Nebraska," Berry said. "Twirling in Memorial Stadium feels like home."