LITTLE ROCK- All of the days of marching practice and rehearsals in the hot summer heat came to an end last week on a cold fall morning at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. The Paris Marching Eagles Band competed in the Arkansas ASBOA state marching contest along with other bands who also qualified to compete in the state event. And at the end of the cold morning in the Capitol City, the Paris band program reached a milestone by placing second in the state in Class 3A.
In fact, Logan County can now boast that it has the best two bands in Class 3A. The Booneville Bearcats band won the Class 3A state title on the same day, and when the two schools returned home, the state champions and state runners-up in Class 3A brought their titles back to western Arkansas and Logan County.
For Paris, this year’s band was composed of just three seniors: Jacy Varnell, Tomas Heavin, and Alex Reed. Those seniors led a band that included a lot of young players. And in finishing second in the state this year, the future for the Paris band program is as bright as the sunny day was last week during their state performance.
The Marching Eagles qualified for a berth in the state marching band competition by receiving a unanimous first division rating from three judges at the annual Region 8 marching assessment that was held earlier in the fall at Fort Smith Northside High School.
In Little Rock, the state contest was judged by judges from all over the nation. Paris earned a first division rating by scoring an 80 or higher on the BOA rules and rubric under a panel of six judges. In doing so, the band was awarded as silver medalists for the contest, meaning they were the second highest scoring band in Class 3A. Quite an accomplishment when compared to the outstanding 3A band programs in the River Valley and across Arkansas.
Paris was the first band to perform on the day of the contest. The band performed at 9:30 a.m., making it a very early start for the group of dedicated students and directors.
The band held a final practice in Paris the afternoon before leaving for Little Rock. After a short overnight stay in Little Rock, the band was at the stadium early on the day of the competition and began warm-up outside the stadium at approximately 8:30 a.m. Paris stepped onto the War Memorial turf at approximately 9:10 a.m. to begin setting up equipment and props for their performance.
Paris band director Matt Shewmaker and assistant director Jeremy Drymon, along with several band parents who made the trip to Little Rock, did a great job in supporting the band on their big day and state performance.
RNN Sports was in Little Rock last week to capture photos of the band’s day at the stadium. Photos from the band’s performance can be found on Facebook at Paris Eagles Sports.
Congratulations to the band and their directors on a job well done!
