Winter Guard’s season comes to an early end due to COVID-19, finishes 3rd in class

Morgan Reese, Photographer|April 3, 2020

Throughout this year’s season, the Winter Guard has placed first at a North Texas Colorguard Association competition and has even made school history by making finals at a Winter Guard International regional competition. But as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, the 202o season has come to an end, leaving some students saying that they are “devasted” and others saying they are “happy” with the progress and history that was made.

Denise Broyles
The Winter Guard displays their first-place trophy from the NTCA Byron Nelson Winter Guard Show. At this competition, the guard performed their show, “River,” for the last time. That performance pushed them to third place in their NTCA class for the 2020 season, which has now ended due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Following their win, these Winter Guard Members gathered: From the top, Arianna Welch, Alexis Thomas, Bela Hernandez, Zoey Wilcox, Alivia Didonato, Karli Freudenberg, Sophia Adams, Kira Watson, Megan Broyles, Abby Schrah, Sammy Guastella, Brittney DeWald, Cydney Jenks, Meghan Gordon, Kat Guydosh, Natalie Tovar, Allison Bicknell, Emma Hudson, Sarah Holz, Alex Dewald and Lauren Sloan.

Senior captain Lauren Sloan said she feels like the season was left unfinished and that they still had a lot to fix to finalize their show, but she said she is proud of what the team was able to achieve for her final year.

“At first I didn’t really feel anything when the season was cut short, but after a while, I started to get this feeling that it wasn’t really over,” Sloan said. “We were working on this thing for months, getting pushed harder than any of us had ever gotten pushed before, and then it was gone? We had so much more to do, and way too many fixes and changes for it all to end just like that.”

Many Winter Guard members, like sophomore Cydney Jenks, said they are conflicted in their feelings about this year’s early finish.

“It was kind of a relief because it was very time-consuming and stressful, but now that it’s over I just really miss it, and I miss being around everyone,” Jenks said. “It was so much fun, and I wish it wasn’t over.”

Despite their early finish, color guard technician Kelly Medlin said that she is proud of what the team has been able to achieve in their short season.

“They had a really awesome year. Though we did not get to perform at our last three competitions, based on scores, they finished third place in their class in NTCA,” Medlin said. “With a guard that is majority underclassman, this was an awesome feat. The staff is really proud of everything this team accomplished, even with a shortened season.”

The team’s competition results revealed more progress and achievement than they ever have had in the past, and members said they are satisfied with the results.

“While I’m sad that I may not be able to see my Winter Guard friends for a while, I’m amazed at everything we accomplished,” Sloan said. “We did so many things that previous Winter Guards weren’t able to do, and I’m happy I got to be a part of it.”