As the PA announcement reverberated throughout the stadium, senior trumpet player Joseph Lugo hung his arm around his friend’s shoulder, nervously anticipating the results. When the announcement was made declaring the Golden Eagle Band first, Lugo shot up with his hands in the air as he screamed out embracing his friends in teary hugs.

“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really expecting to be placed first, it was a huge surprise,” Lugo said. “I was thinking we would be in the top six, but it was genuinely unexpected and amazing to me that we were able to achieve this highly.”

After the band performed the best in it’s history, narrowly missing state at the UIL Area B Marching Competition, they finished off the season taking home first place at the US Bands Southwestern Championships at AT&T Stadium.

“We had a lot of successes throughout the season even though we were really close to making area,” senior saxophone player Ashley Riddle said. “Despite the setback, we put all our fight into our final competition, and it paid off at the end.”

With the concert band usually winning at state and national levels, this season was a step forward for marching band.

“This year marked a pivotal shift for our marching band,” Band Director Christopher Bronson said. “Although we narrowly missed state, our performance at area was an achievement unmatched in our program’s history.”

At the beginning of the season, the band was unsure of how they would perform in their first competition, which Bronson said usually sets the tone for the rest of the season.

“I felt great a few weeks out, and then the closer we got to the competition, the more I personally started to get nervous,” Bronson said. ”I worked really hard not to show the students that, but it was just so gratifying that we got the recognition through the competition as well.”

Sophomore baritone player Chloe Crittendon said that although there were some disappointing times throughout the season, all the band achieved made up those setbacks.

“We all sacrificed days and hours of our lives on this show and figuratively blood, sweat and tears,” she said. “And we have had some really, really disappointing moments but with everything we have achieved, it really makes up for all of it.”

Bronson said the shift in the marching band’s performance was the result of the student leaders stepping up.

“The seniors took ownership over their sections, fostering a culture of high standards and mutual support within the band,” Bronson said. “I always tell our seniors, ‘Your job is to leave the program better than you found it’.”

Crittendon said the band worked as a complete team to meet their challenges.

“The leadership team this year was a very collaborative effort to not only find out what we wanted individually for the band but what we wanted as a whole for the band,” Crittendon said.

For seniors, ending the season on a high was the best part of their high school marching band careers.

“I feel like this was was great way to end my senior year and have all this cool experiences,” Riddle said. “I never would have pictured myself marching a marching show at AT&T Stadium.”

Bronson said while taking a step closer to state, and marching at AT&T stadium was great, it wasn’t all the season was about.

“The season wasn’t solely about winning competitions – it was a testament to the band’s commitment to consistent hard work, unwavering dedication, and a focus on continuous improvement,” said Bronson.