By Paisley Mangold, staff writer
This fall, Saegertown’s marching band had one of its best seasons under the leadership of band director Jason Papinchak. Their overall competition scores improved, and they created memories while growing closer as a team.
On Saturday, October 26, the band traveled to Veterans Stadium in Erie for LMBA (Lakeshore Marching Band Association) Championships, earning an impressive score of 77.50. They won fourth place, just three points from first place. This season’s theme was “The Art of Madness.” The band performed three songs that paid homage to iconic artists Vincent Van Gogh, Edvard Munch, and Salvador Dali.
At championships, Saegertown competed against seven other schools in the single-A category. Senior drum major Sam Shelenberger said the overall goal of the season was to “produce the best show possible with what they have.”
The band’s score for the competition show increased by almost ten points over the course of the season. Shelenberger added, “I am super proud of the band. We have six seniors graduating. We grew together as a family, and I’m going to miss it next year.”