On Saturday, Jan. 29, the varsity and JV color guard teams competed at the Texas Color Guard Circuit (TCGC) competition at Dripping Springs High School. Each team placed third in their respective classes.

“It’s very exciting [and] thrilling,” varsity member Nat Opiela ‘25 said. “[The show] was very quick but I had a lot of fun while doing it. Even with making mistakes and everything, being with the team was really, really fun and the whole experience was great.” 

This year, varsity’s show revolves around a lullaby theme, incorporating book props and pillows to dance with. JV’s show is centered around growth using the image of cherry blossoms.

“I think it’s an interesting concept,” varsity member Annika Kanda ‘25 said. “Our varsity show is sleep-themed, [and] it’s fun to express that in a way that’s very different from our marching season design.”

The JV team had an early morning as they performed at 9:49 A.M. They competed in the novice class against ten other teams.

“I think we did really well, [and] we’ve improved a lot since the beginning of the season,” JV captain Neela Kolte ‘23 said. “We still have a long way to go and I think we’re taking a lot of great steps going [in] that direction.” 

The varsity team competed at 2:30 P.M. in the Scholastic A Class against six other teams. 

“I was proud of the work everyone put in and how that paid off, especially considering [how] this [was]  our first competition,” Kanda said.

For freshmen and sophomores on both teams, this was their first winter guard competition ever, having only marching band experience prior to now. 

“[Winter guard] is a lot different than marching band because you’re on a field with 200 people and now you’re on this floor with eleven people, and when you drop a flag, it’s a lot more nerve-wracking,” varsity member Trinity Castro ‘25 said.

The next competition will take place at Hendrickson High School on February 12.