The Columbia High School Marching Wildcats continued to shine as they competed in Petal against 19 other bands. They came in seventh overall in the competition that featured bands ranging from 1A to 6A schools. The drum line came in third overall in the same field of competition.
"In the competition at Petal, bands were divided based on school size from A, which is the smallest, to D, which is the largest. CHS was supposed to compete as a "B" but chose to compete as a "C" class school in order to have more competition. CHS came in third overall in the "C" class competition.
"We placed better than expected," Band Director Leslie Fortenberry said. "We made some 6A schools very mad. We are a 4A school, but we competed against middle 6A schools and did very well. We weren't up against those schools that were close to 7A, but we stood up against solid 6A schools."
The road to success has not been easy.
"We have gone through some gruesome practices full of blood, sweat and tears and giving our all to the band to accomplish first place this year," Briyonna Newsome (clarinet) said.
Madison Rogers, Briyonna Newsome, Aria Blackard and Joey Thompson are proud of the accomplishments of the Columbia High School Marching Wildcat Band at their competitions so far this month and are confident they will do well Pearl on Oct. 29.
On Oct. 29, the band will compete in the 4A championships at Pearl High School at 3:45 p.m. against 18 bands from across the state that made it to the finals. CHS has won this championship seven times, with the last one being in 2018.
"We have been working our butts off all year to achieve what we've been wanting, which are championships," Drum Major Madison Rogers said.
The band members are positive going into the next competition.
"It can be fun sometimes. It can hurt sometimes. It is rewarding, and I like performing. I know we sound good, and I think we have a great chance to place first in Pearl," Tenor Drummer Joey Thompson said.
Some members tried to sound more modest in their predictions.
"We have been working really hard. We're in a really good place. I think we are in a great place to get top-3 at the 4A championships in Pearl," Tenor Drummer Aria Blackard said.
This Friday, the CHS band will have a patriotic presentation at halftime, along with Jefferson Middle School's band. A presentation will be made to veterans at that time.
