SC crowned four high school band champions this weekend. Half of them are from Fort Mill
Fort Mill is again home to champions.
Catawba Ridge and Nation Ford high schools came home from state marching band competitions this weekend as the best in their fields. Nation Ford won the 4A title. It’s the ninth state championship for the school that opened in 2007. Catawba Ridge, a 3A school which opened in 2019, won its first state title.
York Comprehensive High School finished third in the 4A contest held Saturday at Spring Valley High School in Columbia. South Pointe High School in Rock Hill finished 10th. Only the top 16 bands advanced to the state competition after upper and lower state championships in each classification a week prior.
In 3A, Indian Land High School finished in 10th place. Andrew Jackson High School finished third in 2A competition. In the 1A contest, Lewisville High School finished sixth and and York Prep seventh.
Nation Ford defended its 2019 title, with marching band season canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nation Ford now has won eight of the past 10 contested 4A titles. There are only three marching seasons where Nation Ford hasn’t won a state title since its first in 2009.
Nation Ford finished more than a point clear of the second best band in its division, T.L. Hanna High School. Nation Ford received its highest marks for its group and overall visual performance.
Catawba Ridge dominated its field. The band finished more than six points ahead of the next highest band, Powdersville High School. Bands are judged on more than a dozen individual and ensemble marks that include music, visual and overall effect. Catawba Ridge is the only band in South Carolina, regardless of classification, to rank No. 1 in every category in its competition.
The 94.4 overall score for Catawba Ridge was the highest total in the state, across classifications. The second highest was Nation Ford at 91.05.
This season marks the first time since 2009 that two Fort Mill bands won state titles in the same year. That year saw Nation Ford win in 3A and Fort Mill High School win in 4A.
Apart from last year when there were no competitions, there has been only one season since 2008 when at least one band from a Fort Mill school didn’t win a title. The now three Fort Mill schools have won 13 titles in the past 12 seasons.
Large schools now on deck
Not all area high schools are finished. The 5A preliminary and state final performances come Saturday at Irmo High School.
The 5A classification for marching bands — it’s different from other school sports — includes the 24 largest high schools in the state. The competition Saturday will feature 14 bands.
Clover High School will march at noon. Rock Hill High School follows at 12:45 p.m. Finals performances begin at 6:15 p.m.
One band that won’t be in those 5A championships is perennial power Fort Mill, a 24-time state champion dating back to 1976.
However, in 2012 Fort Mill started an alternating pattern where the school competes in state competitions during even years and regional or national competitions in odd years. Those larger competitions typically conflict with the state championship schedule.
Fort Mill will end its marching season on Saturday at the US Bands Southern States Championship at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. A dozen high school bands from Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina will compete. Fort Mill is the only South Carolina representative.
