The Melissa Mighty Cardinal Band made a return trip in November to the UIL 4A State Marching Contest held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, and for the second year in a row, they finished in the top three. With a show titled “Flight 2-0-2-1,” the band received the bronze medal (third place) behind Argyle (first place) and Canton (second place). View the full results here.

“We put all our effort out on the field that night; there was nothing we could have done,” junior Ava Neu said. “Everyone I talked to after the show said that our performance that night was their best one. Individually or as a team, we all did our absolute best.”

The Mighty Cardinal Band had been preparing and practicing for the UIL competition since August to become one of 26 bands in class 4A to advance to state.

“Our band has never really competed for prizes. Sure, they are cool, but it is more important to us to try to outdo ourselves,” Neu said. “In my opinion, we did. Last year’s show was amazing, but it was not too entertaining or memorable in a musical sense. This year, our goal was to make our show entertaining and memorable. Even if our ranking was lower, we beat our past selves and need to try harder next year.”

Like any other year, the band will look back on this show and reflect on what they can do to perform even better for a higher ranking.

“I know I contributed to our show, but I don’t feel like I had a large hand in our success. Our soloists were a huge strength in our show,” Neu said. “They were calm and completely unwavering in their performances and practices. For me, when a soloist finishes their part, I feel like a checkmark has been tangibly marked. It boosted my confidence, and I felt more prepared to finish strong.”