The last two weeks have brought unmitigated highs for the EHS Winter Guard – both in competition and community.
The flag-twirling, rifle-tossing ensemble took first-place in the Scholastic A division at the Mid Continent Color Guard Association Scholastic Championship. Then, it made a finals run in the same division at Winter Guard International’s World Championship competition – earning the title of 14th best Scholastic A guard out of 130 in the nation.
For varsity members of the guard, the morning of the MCCGA Championship – referred to among the team as “champs” – started on a bus bound for Ozark High School. It was March 29, and OHS wasn’t where they would compete, but it’s where they had to be to pull out JV’s tarp and help them set up their props.
Later that day, after they had dashed back to Willard High School and performed to the tune of 87.805 points, competitors might’ve looked down their arms and legs to see clothespins stuck to them. The wooden clips carried uplifting messages from other guards, who had “pinned” them and gotten pinned by the Tigers in return.
For sophomore soloist Gwen Harkey, those small actions of support — helping JV out and sharing love through pins — are what made the atmosphere of champs particularly fun.
“Every time you pass a guard, you get to say hi and tell them they look great, or good luck if they’re in costume and on their way to perform,” Harkey said.
The guard has an especially close relationship with the Grain Valley High School Winter Guard. According to Harkey, the Tigers’ scores this year are similar to those of GVHS. The guard took second to the Eagles at its WGI Regional.
“When we went to Kansas City, we got to go to one of their rehearsals and watch each other’s shows,” Harkey said. “Since then, we’ve been cheering each other on at every competition, and we got to take a big group photo with them at champs.”
Senior Zanyia Wilson remembers the moment just before she performed, when she heard messages like “Focus, you got this,” and “You’re beautiful!” shouted from other guards.
“It’s amazing how even though all these teams and schools are my competitors, we all absolutely adore each other,” Wilson said.
But the Tigers found more than support at champs this season. They found success – despite multiple slip-ups in their run. Wilson said she dropped a toss, and Harkey agreed their performance wasn’t their strongest. But when they went to retreat, or awards, the judges gave them a score that made up for any regrets about the performance.
“When I heard our name being first, I thought I went crazy. I was so confused, and I was just looking around at everyone,” Wilson said. “Some were holding back tears, some were just so happy, and I was just a mix because I didn’t even think any of it was even real. I’ve been here since freshman year and never skipped a single season, so I was just blown away by it all.”
Harkey said the guard’s coaches have been telling the performers that the only run that matters is the one they’re about to do. According to her, this is why the guard members didn’t let their win at champs change the way they viewed the WGI World Championship, which they call “worlds” or “Dayton” because of its location at the University of Dayton, Ohio arena.
“I am fully positive that we are strong. We are humble. We are capable enough to put everything we worked for to Dayton,” Wilson said after champs. “This is our shot, our only shot, and we will take it with our heads high.
At Dayton, the guard’s one shot took them beyond what they’d been able to achieve throughout program history. They left for Ohio on Wednesday, April 2. On Thursday, they competed in a preliminary round and qualified for semi-finals. That wasn’t anything shocking. The real surprise came Friday, when, for the first time ever, the guard qualified for finals.
“I think we had some of our best runs of the season at worlds,” senior Reagan Siron said. “Performing in the arena is unreal. The atmosphere is just amazing. I remember hearing the crowd lose their minds at the first flag feature, and it was amazing to hear people cheer like that for us.”
Being a finals qualifier meant the guard had to run their show again Friday night, which Siron said was tiring.
“We were up at 5 a.m. every day to do hair and makeup,” Siron said. “It was long, and we were exhausted, but it was so, so much fun.”
Their last run of the season brought them to the rank of 14th best Scholastic A guard in the nation with a score of 86.035, but when Siron reflects on the weekend, that’s not the moment that stands out.
“My favorite behind-the-scenes memory from the week was definitely sitting on the floor in the back of the bus on our way to Dayton, making friendship bracelets to trade with other teams,” Siron said. “We were laughing the entire time, just trying to keep the beads from flying everywhere.”