Lexington County, SC (Paul Kirby) – The bands of Lexington County's high schools were busy this weekend competing in The SC Band Director’s Association finals at several places in the state. When all the music and shows were over, Lexington County High Schools had done very well and had brought home a number of awards for their efforts.
First and foremost, the Chapin High School Marching Eagles took first place in the Class AAA that was held at Batesburg-Leesville High School in Lexington County. This band has done well all year with a show that featured a violinist play variation of beautiful music while on the field in a tuxedo.
The Batesburg-Leesville Marching Panthers received fourth place honors in that competition Saturday as well. The SC Band Director’s Association website shows that Irmo High School also performed, but no information regarding their result were available at this time.
The Class AA State Competition was held at Spring Valley High School in northeast Richland County. In that class, Lexington County had three bands competing. They were Swansea, Gilbert, and Pelion.
It was late into the night when that competition was over. Well after 9:00 p.m. the awards were presented and all three Lexington County bands were in the top 10!
In ninth place were the Swansea Tigers. This little band from District Four is coming on strong and showed well. Remember that they were competing with more than 16 other bands Saturday, and had defeated many others over the past few months to even make it to the state competition.
The Gilbert Marching Indians, a District One band with a fanatical following, took fourth place, They are also becoming better and stronger with every show. Like their athletics programs, they are extremely well supported with an excellent staff, a pit crew, and a huge following of supportive parents and families.
The Pelion High School Marching Panther Band took third place. This band has a long history of success, and their Director Otto Hage said they were proud of the result of this season's efforts. He also thanked the supportive families, staff, and pit crew for their efforts also.
In Class AAAA competition, Lexington, White Knoll, and River Bluff, all Lexington One bands, won honors for their hard work. All three were in the top ten out of 16.
The final results were Lexington tenth, White Knoll eighth, and River Bluff second! After the awards, the director of the River Bluff Gator Band told his students that they had nothing to be ashamed of for placing just a few points behind the first-place winners, Nations Ford. “There are lots of people that are here tonight that would love to have one of these hanging around their neck,” Director of Band Kenneth Turner told his students as he held up the medal they had been presented. “You gave it everything you had, you left it all on the field, and you got better and better every performance. That’s all that I can ask for,” he told the kids and students before they boarded the buses for home.
All in all, it was a great weekend for our Lexington County students. They’ve worked extremely hard to develop, learn, and perform shows that are intricate, and entertaining. Now, it’s on to the winter events!
