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Winter Guard Advances to World Championships

Photographer+Elise+Gordon

Photographer Elise Gordon

By Christian Witte

This past weekend, winter guard attended Mid Continental Color Guard Circuit Associations (MCCGA) Championships which were held in Springfield, Missouri. They were named bronze medalist in Scholastic Open, which is the second highest class for high school-aged students.

“As a team, everyone thought they had their best performances, and that it was all very together,” junior guard member Leah Chaney said. “Everyone thought it was the best run they’ve ever had.”

MCCGA is composed of color guards and percussion groups from Missouri, parts of Illinois and parts of Arkansas. There are high school groups which compete in the scholastic classes, and there are independent classes for guards who are not affiliated with a high school or middle school. Guards will only compete against guards in their own classes and their own division: scholastic or independent. The higher the class, the more complex a guard is expected to perform.

“[Being in an Open Class guard] makes me feel really great,” sophomore guard member Essence Green said. “I joined an Open Class Guard and not many kids can say that.”

Now, winter guard has one last practice to add final touches and clean their show before they embark on their trip to Dayton, Ohio for World Championships on Wednesday, April 5 to compete against many guards from all across the nation. Winter Guard will be performing for the chance to compete in semifinals. Their prelims performance is at 9:57 a.m. on Thursday morning. The competition will take place in various arenas around Dayton and Cincinnati, Ohio.

“I thought we had a really good show for us as a team,” junior guard member Devyn Meyer said. “I’m proud of where we’ve come this season based on that performance.”