On October 13th, many local middle schools and high schools participated in a large marching band competition in Charleston, Missouri. Charleston is one of the largest band competitions in this area that hosts a marching competition and a field competition every year. Multiple bands from Southeast Missouri compete against each other for various awards in each division.
Stoddard County had many bands that entered the competition, including: Dexter, T.S. Hill Middle School, Richland Junior High, Richland, Puxico, Bloomfield, Bell City, and Advance. Each Class, or division, was dependent on the size of the band, so many of the schools from Stoddard County did not compete against each other.
T.S. Hill won first place in the junior high division, defeating five other middle school bands. They played the song ‘Banda Excellante’ and won five out of the six trophies available to win, including highest music score, outstanding percussion, outstanding color guard, and outstanding drum major.
Puxico High School won first place in the Gold Class division, while playing ‘Thriller’. Their majorettes placed first in the Gold Class division and the band was rewarded with the outstanding marching and outstanding music. Puxico also took home the first place trophy for their field show division.
Richland High School won the Blue Class division, while playing ‘Proud Mary’. They were also rewarded with outstanding marching, outstanding music, and outstanding guard. Their three majorettes won first over all the other bands that competed.
Dexter High School played the song ‘Bird Land’ and got second place in their division. They received the highest music score, outstanding marching, outstanding guard, and outstanding drum major. They were awarded third place in their field show division.
The Charleston Parade is the final competition of the marching season for many bands, but a few of them plan to return and finish the season next month at the Dexter Holiday Parade on November 9th, playing Christmas-themed songs and bringing Holiday cheer.
The local marching bands earned numerous trophies and won many victories and the Charleston Parade gave them a great way to end the competition season. We would like to say congratulations to all the bands that competed and good luck for next season.
