Powerhouse Fort Mill schools capture SC marching band titles again. How the region fared
Catawba Ridge and Nation Ford high schools added to the long list of area South Carolina marching band champions on Saturday night. They weren’t the only local schools to put on a show.
Catawba Ridge scored a 95.3 to win the 4A title, more than two points higher than any other band in the five finals competitions so far. Marching bands are scored on individual and group music, visuals and overall effect.
Nation Ford scored a 92.95 to win in 5A, one point ahead of Fort Mill High School. Fort Mill beat Nation Ford earlier in the day to claim an upper state championship before those schools flipped positions in the finals.
Upper and lower state champions are determined by a preliminary round that determines which bands will march for a state title in the finals. Half the finalists come from the upper part of the state, and the other half from the lower part.
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Catawba Ridge has now won state championships in three of the past four years, across two size classifications. Nation Ford has 10 titles in the past 15 seasons (championships weren’t held in 2020 due to COVID).
Fort Mill has a record 24 state titles, despite only competing in state contests every other year for more than a decade. Fort Mill marches in national events in odd-year seasons.
Rock Hill region band results
The Fort Mill schools aren’t the only ones to fare well this season.
Five-time state champion York finished third in the 4A finals, behind only Catawba Ridge and Chapin. After Nation Ford and Fort Mill in the top two spots in 5A, eight-time state champion Indian Land finished sixth.
Northwestern, the only Rock Hill school with a title after its 2008 win, finished No. 8. Rock Hill was No. 9.
Only the top 12 schools each from across the state got to march in the 4A and 5A finals. Preliminary rounds were held earlier Saturday.
York Preparatory Academy finished ninth in the 1A finals on Oct. 19.
The 6A preliminary and final competitions are Nov. 2. Clover is the only school from the Rock Hill region scheduled to march in 6A.
Since 1965, schools from York, Lancaster or Chester counties have won 63 state marching band titles. That’s 24% of all the championships won in that span.
This story was originally published October 28, 2024 at 11:19 AM.
