21 September 2002 East Takes Class and Qualifies In its first appearance at Xenia's Southwestern Invitational (and the first appearance in many years in the extreme southwestern Ohio region in regular competition), the East Tartan Regiment represented the local area well (along with Northwest), winning top honors in all categories in Class C, qualifying for OMEA State Finals with a superior rating, and scoring on an equal level with most of the top scoring bands (regardless of class). For clarification purposes, the Regiment took Best Percussion, Best Auxiliary, Best Field Commander (Jane Morrison), and First Place Band. However, this was not an easy task, given close competition from another extremely talented Class C band (whom East has never encountered) who helps prove the worthiness of the smaller band: Covington. In fact, Covington was only 1 point behind East! If this makes the competition sound close, the overall scores will make it sound like one of the closest competitions in recent memory (for the most part, anyway, which will be covered shortly). Between six bands, from 6th place to 2nd place overall, the range was only 5 points. These scores, rounded to the nearest point, show how close the bulk of the competition was: Covington (Class C), 241; East (Class C), 242; Troy (Class AA), 243; Licking Heights (Class B) 244; and Middletown (Class AA), 246. Of course, the Grand Champions, Dublin Coffman (Class AA) presented a spectacular performance, even by Dublin Coffman standards (and that's saying a lot, given their reputation for excellence to begin with), receiving a massive score of 272 (I think; it was definitely in the 270's)! Dublin Coffman performed with a cleanliness and energy generally unprecedented this early in the season, and the East Tartan Regiment commends this amazing group! East would also like to congratulate all of the other bands who competed in the Southwestern Invitational. Although the website only reported the scores in the 240's to represent the closeness of competition, many of the bands scored just below that mark. Many more were on the verge of receiving the superior rating; if today was any indication, many of these bands will soon be qualifying. East is proud to have been able to represent Scioto County (along with Northwest, who won Best Auxiliary, Class B, and 3rd Place Band, Class B) amongst some of the best of southwestern Ohio, and congratulates all who competed, and especially Xenia for hosting such a fantastic showcase of talent. Thank you all! Congratulations East! Congratulations Bands! |