Scenes from the ISSMA State Finals at Lucas Oil Stadium. Greenfield-Central Cougar Pride placed 7th in Open Class B. Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023.
Tom Russo-Daily Reporter
INDIANAPOLIS — The Cougar Pride Band & Guard once again marched their way into the Top 10 at the ISSMA Marching Band State Finals last weekend.
The Greenfield-Central High School band placed seventh in Class B, competing against bands from schools of similar size throughout the state. Theirs was the only Hancock County band to qualify for the finals this year.
The annual contest, hosted by the Indiana State School Music Association, took place Oct. 28 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The Cougars have made quite a name for themselves in recent years, having won the state championship in 2019 and 2021, the year before and after COVID canceled the 2020 competition.
The band placed third in 2022.
Director Chris Wing said he was incredibly proud of this year’s band and guard, which has nearly 140 collective members. The group started rehearsals in May and have been working their hearts out ever since, he said.
“This is Greenfield-Central’s eighth state finals trip,” said Wing, who has been director for seven of them. “We’ve made it (to state) the last five years, never finishing outside of the top three since 2014.”
This year’s show — Mysteries, Monsters, and Myths — was a perfect fit for late October.
“The show is about three different subjects: UFOs (mysteries), Big Foot (monsters) and the Bermuda Triangle (myths). Each section deals in those areas, with several hidden tricks to highlight the stories of each,” said Wing.
The director said he couldn’t have been prouder of his band’s performance this year.
“The kids were outstanding,” said Wing.
“This year, our class was extremely competitive with many great groups. That includes us. It’s always more fun when there are lots of great groups and everyone challenges each other to keep getting better,” he said.
Band supporters and fans paid $25 each to pack the stands Saturday, cheering wildly as the Cougar Pride took the stage at 11:15 a.m.
Lynn Caudill and her sister were among those cheering on the band.
“This is a great group of hardworking and dedicated kids. They started practicing their program in May, and I can’t even imagine the total number of hours they spent perfecting their show. We’re so proud of each and every band member and staff,” said Caudill, whose nephew, Korbin Phelps, a senior who plays clarinet, performed in his final ISSMA competition this year.
Caudill and her sister, Phelps’ grandmother, got a kick out of helping the band boosters with food donations and decorating throughout the season.
“The Band Boosters are awesome, and the show could not go on without all their support,” she said.
While the ISSMA marching band contest is definitely a highlight of each year, Wing said his school’s student musicians have many more things to look forward to this year.
“That includes all of our winter competitive groups getting started before Christmas, jazz band and concert band festivals, and a ton of other things that aren’t as visible as marching band, but are critically important to us as we continue to build the program moving forward to even more successes,” he said.
