We see them at games, we see them practicing in the parking lot, we see them at school assemblies. The marching band is an important factor at school, but they also have their own competitions off the field.

At the Legend Marching Festival on October 11th, marching band qualified for finals – the third year in a row at – taking 2nd place overall. The next competition, which was Regionals on October 14th, led them to qualify at the state championships on October 24th.

For the first time in 16 years, the HR marching band had qualified for State. The last time that HR participated was in 1998, when most juniors were born.

“It was such a unique experience knowing that the school hasn’t made it in so long,” said Jessie Bertman, junior. She has played the clarinet for 7 years, and has been on the HR marching band since her freshman year.

Hosted at the Air Force Academy, the band is competing in the 4A Division. Divisions are ranked on school size, and HR marching band consists of 60 members.

Zuzia Adamowiz plays the flute for the HR Marching band. “We practiced a lot for this. I’m happy to be apart of it especially since it’s such an exciting achievement,” said Adamowiz.

This year, marching band earned 66.2 points, HR has received a 15 point increase from last years tournament. They took 13th place, .8 of a point away from 12th, impressively jumping from 15th place.

Nao Yamada, who also plays the flute, has been on the marching band since her freshman year. She’s played the flute since 5th grade, and this recent success has her proud for HR. “We haven’t made it this far in many years, I’m very proud,” said Yamada.

Jade Zimmerman, Staff Reporter