The Marching Woodmen had a successful season.

Many of the band members’ goals going into the season was to make it to State.

“Our goal this year was to make it to State. We have done it many times in the past, so we all knew that we could do it,” freshman Sydney Branch, percussion, said.

The band crushed their goal, and they placed 4th overall.

“We got 4th place, and the margin between 1st and 4th was within a single point,” sophomore Alex Flora, percussion, said.

Flora’s goal going into the year was to be better than last year and to get the band back to the standards they used to be at.

“Our goals going into this season were to rebuild the program and connect back to our legacy after the COVID-19 crash and other incidents. In the end, we were very successful, and I am very proud of everyone,” Flora said.

The Bands of America competition is another reason why the band has been successful. 

“The Bands of America competition is a two day competition where bands from all over the country come to Lucas Oil Stadium to compete,” Flora said.

The Bands of America competition was the favorite competition for some band members, because of the setting and their performance. 

“The BOA competition was my favorite because we got to go to Lucas Oil Stadium. It was also the best performance that I have personally had all year,” sophomore Julia Short, flute, said. 

Branch’s favorite competition was the BOA competition.

“My favorite competition was the BOA. It is nice to see the progress that we have made since the BOA competition last year. Also, it is always nice performing in an NFL stadium,” Branch said.

The band has also been successful for other reasons.

“The band has been working really hard and has been overall successful. We have had some rough days, but every competition we do better than the last,” Branch said.

Hard work is another reason why the Marching Woodmen are thriving this year.

“This season went really well. We worked very hard, and we’ve improved musically and visually since the beginning of the year,” Short said.

The Marching Woodmen participated in many invitationals this year; Flora’s favorite one was the home invitational.

“My favorite competition was our home invitational. We had a lot of alumni and long-term fans return to see our show, and it was overall a great night and great run,” Flora said.

Next season will come before the band knows it, and they still have work to do if they want to win State.

“Next year we will have more second year marchers, so we’ll be more experienced and we’ll know what to expect for our competitions,” Branch said.

Flora thinks that, if the Marching Woodmen get off to a strong start, they will be even better next season.

“It took us longer than expected to get into the groove this season, so if we have more energy and a better work ethic, we will be very successful,” Flora said.