Columns with the phrase “Be Kind” tower in the background as varsity winter guard teaches the audience at the University of Dayton (UD) Arena the power of compassion and hope.
On Saturday, April 11, the varsity winter guard team was crowned first in the Scholastic Open class finals at the WGI Color Guard World Championships in Dayton, Ohio. With a score of 98.150, they beat the last school record by six points.
“We definitely saw the rankings, but we’ve been taught to be humble like things can change. If we don’t do what we’ve been doing, we won’t get it,” senior Meredith Lee said. “So we’ve just been pushing and … we were hoping to make finals and then we found out we did and then we had a good run and that’s what happened.”
Despite the challenges of practicing away from home, the team’s dedication was recognized as superior to the fourteen other Scholastic Open Class teams, placing them at a higher standard for future competition seasons.
Junior Micah Thompson, one of the main dancers for the flag line and a part of the leadership team, has been on the team since freshman year. She described how their performance storyline cycles through life; the show starts with pure innocence, before the harsh reality of the world. In the middle, the guard is exposed to heartbreak, struggling through a heavy, deep performance. Nearing the zenith, they find love amongst the team and begin finding hope.
“We dance and we come together and in the end, we’re a new person. It’s like going through grief and we’re expressing that through our own feelings. And we put that into our show and that’s what that is, life,” Thompson said.
Their point total was composed of 19.10 for Equipment Analysis. 19.85 for Movement Analysis, 19.65 for Design Analysis and 39.55 for General Effect, with no penalizations.
“The coaches, they write the performance and the skills. They pick the song and they design it and then they basically just tell us what to do,” Lee said.
Facing the colder, hilly, new environment of Ohio proved challenging for the guard’s preparation.
“It was stressful and you could see that throughout the entire guard. Because on one day, it felt like everybody just kind of snapped. This was like the last practice. … everybody was just … not in it,” senior Donald Napier said. “But we calmly collected ourselves … and after that we performed at semi[final]s and beat … our personal Ohio record by like four points.”
The neighboring team from Timber Creek High also advanced to finals, coming in second with a score of 97.4.
“I didn’t really think about winning or beating them. I just thought that we’re together in this because it’s Team Florida, Florida against the world out there,” junior Micah Thompson said.
Along with Napier and Lee, Thompson joined the team freshman year and now completes the leadership team.
Next year, they’ll be moving on to the Scholastic World Class competition, competing in the highest of eight levels.
“[It’s] a more difficult class … so I’m really excited to see how our coaches are gonna write,” senior Meredith Lee said. “And then I’m really excited to see how everyone’s gonna execute it and see everyone’s skills. ‘Cause I know they’re hiding skills in the back of their brains to take out.”
