On Saturday, March 1, both the Varsity and JV Color Guard teams competed at the Winter Guard International (WGI) Austin Regional preliminary competition at Glenn High School. Both teams qualified from prelims to compete in the finals round on March 2 with the JV team earning second  out of the three teams in their class, and the Varsity team earning eighth out of the 20 teams in their class. This is the first time the JV team has competed at this highly competitive regional, and the first time Varsity has proceeded to finals in five years, making this a momentous occasion for the program.

WGI Austin is famously one of the most competitive regional competitions in Texas, and competing was a highlight for both teams’ seasons. With over 70 teams competing in the different classes, it is not only a competition of ranks and scores, but a celebration of the art of Color Guard in Texas. In addition to performing at this competition, the Color Guard got to witness several amazing teams from different parts of Texas ranging from other high school teams to independently operating color guards.

“My favorite color guard I saw was probably James Bowie High School,” Draden Jones ‘26 said. “I liked being able to see guards that were better than us so that I could have something to aspire to become.”

The JV team initially competed against six teams in their class, with the top three teams advancing to finals. JV earned their highest placement yet with a score of 78.14, placing second in their class and moving on to finals. At finals, JV remained at second place but managed to increase their score to 78.72, a feat possible due to their admirable perseverance and focus during their run of their show Birds of a Feather, whose concept is based on birds and the 2023 Warrior Band Production Birds on a Wire.

“I felt very proud, and I was almost expecting a high placement because of how well we’ve been doing at competitions,” JV Captain Camryn Lee ‘28 said. “My favorite part of performing was those small moments of eye contact with my teammates where we both felt good about performing.”

The Varsity team faced their largest pool of competitors yet, competing against 41 teams in prelims with the top 20 teams moving on to finals. Due to the sheer volume of competitors in the Scholastic A class, the class was split into three rounds of ten and one round of 11 to determine which teams went to finals. The Varsity placed third in their round of ten, and ninth amongst all teams in their class with a score of 79.18, moving onto finals. 

“I was so excited and proud of us because of how hard we worked to get to that moment as a team,” Abi Caudle ‘26 said. “I feel like the work we put it in definitely paid off but I wished I could have worked more despite being sick.”

Varsity managed to place higher in finals with a score of 81.29 in eighth place, earning their highest score of the season yet. Their show And I Think to Myself… garnered praise amongst both judges and audience members for its dedication to the city of Austin. The show diverges from the Varsity’s previous production Attention Earthlings with a more mellow soundtrack, and a theme that is more typical in Winter Guard shows.

“I was a little bit shocked to be honest, because in the past we’ve never even gotten close to making finals, so I’m super proud of our varsity team,” Alycia Chee ‘26 said. “We’ve put literal blood, sweat, and tears into this show and I feel like our efforts were finally recognized by the judges at this competition.”

The Color Guard Program’s competitive season is looking to have a fruitful end to one of its most technically challenging and rewarding seasons yet. Both teams’ morales are high, with members raring to make the most of the time they have left in the season. Both teams will be competing at TCGC Davenport this saturday, Mar. 8th.