October 15, 2000

Portsmouth East Gets Second Grand Championship of 2000

Saturday, October 14, the Portsmouth East Marching Band competed in its fifth competition of the 2000 season at Portsmouth West High School's Marching Band Competition. The band competed in Class B, and performed nearly unarguably its best show of the season thus far.

Portsmouth East won first place awards in Class B percussion and band, as well as tying for first place auxiliary with Rock Hill (both bands' guards achieving an amazing score of 94 out of 100!). In overall awards, the band also won first place in both percussion and guard (obviously tying in overall guard, as well), and won its second Grand Champion of the 2000 season. This makes Portsmouth East the winner of the Portsmouth West competition for each of the last three years, as well as having won it four times in the last five years.

Success was also achieved by several other local bands at this year's Portsmouth West competition. In addition to Portsmouth East and Rock Hill, both of which qualified for OMEA State Finals early in the 2000 season, several local bands qualified for the first time this season (and in fact, some for the first time in several years) at West. In Class C, Green High School from Franklin Furnace, Ohio achieved a superior rating, their first in several years. Two bands in Class B besides East and Rock Hill qualified; those being Northwest High School, and the host band, Portsmouth West (this was their first qualification in two years).

Congratulations Bands!

Portsmouth West Awards

Class C:
Percussion - 1st Place, Green; 2nd Place, Symmes Valley
Auxiliary - 1st Place, Symmes Valley; 2nd Place, Green
Band - 1st Place, Green; 2nd Place, Symmes Valley

Class B:
Percussion - 1st Place, Portsmouth East; 2nd Place, Rock Hill; 3rd Place, Minford
Auxiliary - 1st Place (tie), Portsmouth East & Rock Hill; 2nd Place, Ironton; 3rd Place, Northwest
Band - 1st Place, Portsmouth East; 2nd Place, Rock Hill; 3rd Place, Northwest

Overall:
Percussion Champion - Portsmouth East
Auxiliary Champions (tie) - Portsmouth East & Rock Hill
2nd Runner-Up Grand Champion - Northwest
1st Runner-Up Grand Champion - Rock Hill
Grand Champion - Portsmouth East

Congratulations to all bands that performed on making this a very enjoyable competition!

Portsmouth East would also like to wish luck to all of the bands that have yet to qualify for State Finals as the final weekend of qualifying events approaches (Oct. 21). Keep up the hard work, and don't give up; and you will definitely be making the trip to finals!