MCHS Band wins third Atlantic Coast Championship
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HERSHEY – It’s been a trying year for the Mifflin County High School Marching Band. The Marching Huskies experienced the typical turnover that most performance groups and athletic teams go through from one year to the next.
Band members were also shuffled between different practice locations due to the ongoing construction for the new Husky Multi-Purpose Facilities Project.
However, it seems like the more things change, the more they stay the same – at least for the Marching Huskies.
Mifflin County traveled to Hersheypark Stadium on Sunday afternoon and came home with its third Tournament of Bands (TOB) Atlantic Coast Championship title.
The band scored 90.70 in TOB’s Group 4-Open Class and also won the specialty awards for best music, visual, drum line and color guard.
Mifflin County High School Director of Bands Art Belfiore said, “It has been a challenging year for us. If you have ever participated in any high school competitive activity you know every year is different. That was a constant for the band this year. We had a different location for Band Camp, we practiced in a different location and the biggest change for us was we did a different type of show. Including actors and lots of props was a huge challenge for the staff because it took so much more planning.
“It was radically different for the students because they had to incorporate actors into the marching and drill,” Belfiore added. “In the end, the more things changed for us, the more they stayed the same. We had a great season and ended it with our best performance.”
The icing on the cake was another championship. It was especially gratifying for the Marching Huskies since they had so many young students: two sixth-grade students, who were age 11; and six seventh-graders.
There were also a group of veterans, including senior Bailey Cullen, who provided important leadership. Cullen said winning another crown provided the perfect to his seven-year tenure as a Marching Husky.
“Walking off the field after the performance with his fellow seniors was fun, and to be together in the moment was comforting,” Cullen said. “I am excited to be done after seven years in the band. I started when I was 11 and I am now 18. The seven years were worth it and fun because I was in the band with some of my best friends.”
With the football and competition seasons now over, the Marching Huskies will now transition to the indoor programs for drum line, dance team and guard.
“The staff has already picked a show for next fall and are working on it every day, “Belfiore said. “With the new stadium complex next year will once again be different but will be the start of a new era.”
Another change, albeit a welcome one.