Marching Band Contest Results: October 17, 2026

Oct 19, 2026 | News

Marching Band Contest Results: October 17, 2026

Cascade was grand champion at the Mid-South Marching Invitational on Saturday, Lake Central won the ISSMA Scholastic Class A state title, and Floyd Central took 2nd in Class AA at the Bands of America Indianapolis Super Regional. Mountain Ridge and Highland both won Division I at ABODA shows in Arizona, and Clear Lake finished 3rd at the Gulf Coast Classic. Here are the marching band contest results for every band I could confirm.

A lot of my bands also marched UIL region contests in Texas last week, and many of them came home with 1s. I’ll cover all of those in a separate post once every region has finished.

Bands of America Indianapolis and East Tennessee

  • Floyd Central HS (IN)
    Indianapolis Super Regional: 2nd in Class AA
    Prelims: 17th of 91, 79.675
    Captions: Class AA Outstanding General Effect (shared)
    Show: Mix of Selections from Evan’s Catalog
  • Goshen HS (IN)
    Indianapolis Super Regional: 5th in Class AAA
    Prelims: 23rd of 91, 77.925
    Show: The Shape of Things to Come
  • River Bluff HS (SC)
    East Tennessee Regional: 11th in finals, 74.700
    Prelims: 10th, 77.100 (7th in Class AAA)
    Show: Paradox

Indianapolis had 91 bands in prelims, which makes Floyd Central’s 2nd in Class AA and a share of the AA General Effect award a strong weekend. River Bluff made the 12-band finals in Johnson City.

Texas invitationals

The Gulf Coast Classic ranks bands by caption placements, and Clear Lake moved up a spot from prelims to finals, which tells me the run got better as the day went on.

Around the country

  • Cascade HS (TN)
    Mid-South Marching Invitational: Grand Champion
    Class AAAA: 1st
    Captions: Music, Visual, Percussion, Color Guard (Class AAAA)
    Show: New Frontier
  • Lake Central HS (IN)
    ISSMA Scholastic Class A State Finals: 1st, State Champions
    Show: A Picture’s Worth
  • Mountain Ridge HS (AZ)
    ABODA Mountain Ridge Invitational: 1st in Division I, 87.456
    Captions: Music, Visual, General Effect, Auxiliary
    Show: Mix of Selections from Evan’s Catalog
  • Highland HS (AZ)
    ABODA Williams Field Invitational: 1st in Division I, 81.288
    Captions: Music, General Effect
    Show: Mix of Selections from Evan’s Catalog
  • Blythewood HS (SC)
    Olde English Festival of Bands: 1st in Class AAAA in prelims, 89.050
    Show: Mix of Selections from Evan’s Catalog
  • Chapin HS (SC)
    Olde English Festival of Bands: 1st in Class AA in prelims, 82.750
    Show: Aurora
  • Grand Junction HS (CO)
    CBA Western Regional (Oct 15): 1st in 5A, 71.300
    Show: Hieroglyphics
  • Corona del Sol HS (AZ)
    ABODA Mountain Ridge Invitational: 2nd in Division I, 85.150
    Captions: Percussion
    Show: Short Circuit
  • Del Norte HS (CA)
    SCSBOA Poway Field Tournament: 2nd in 5AA, 71.00
    Show: On Air
  • Middleton HS (WI)
    WSMA State Marching Championships: 2nd in Class AAAA, 85.938
    4th overall of 35
    Show: Light & Shadow
  • Rio Rancho HS (NM)
    Zia Marching Band Fiesta: 3rd in finals, 85.133
    Prelims: 1st in Deep Dusk class, 84.599
    Show: Mix of Selections from Evan’s Catalog
  • Sandra Day O’Connor HS (AZ)
    ABODA Mountain Ridge Invitational: 3rd in Division I, 85.081
    Show: A Picture’s Worth
  • Boulder Creek HS (AZ)
    ABODA Mountain Ridge Invitational: 4th in Division I, 75.688
    Show: Mix of Selections from Evan’s Catalog
  • Collinsville HS (IL)
    Illinois State Marching Band Championships: 4th in Class 4A, 69.250
    Show: Requiem
  • Elk Grove HS (IL)
    Illinois State Marching Band Championships: 6th in Class 4A, 67.250
    Show: Mix of Selections from Evan’s Catalog
  • Eldorado HS (NM)
    Zia Marching Band Fiesta: 6th in finals, 79.133
    Prelims: 5th in Deep Dusk class, 79.272
    Show: Mix of Selections from Evan’s Catalog
  • Ankeny HS (IA)
    IHSMA State Marching Festival: Division I, Class 4A
    Show: Short Circuit
  • Waukee Northwest HS (IA)
    IHSMA State Marching Festival: Division I, Class 4A
    Show: The Cutting Edge
  • Heritage HS (AR)
    ASBOA Region VI Marching Assessment (Oct 13): Division I from all three judges, Class 7A
    Show: Mix of Selections from Evan’s Catalog

Cascade’s own post listed four Class AAAA captions plus the grand championship, which is about as complete a day as a band can have. Lake Central’s director emailed me Saturday night to say they won state, and IN Bands has them on top of Scholastic Class A. Mountain Ridge swept four captions at its own invitational, and Corona del Sol picked up High Percussion in the same field.

What’s next

Bands of America heads to Waco, Memphis, St. Louis and California this weekend, and the UIL Area contests start in Texas on Saturday. I’ll keep posting marching band contest results as they come in.

Already thinking about next fall? Browse the 2026 show catalog, see my full list of marching band shows, or start sketching your own with the Build Your Show tool. When you’re ready to talk, reach out here.

FAQ

How do Bands of America class awards work? In prelims, bands are grouped into Class A, AA, AAA or AAAA by school size. Each class gets its own placements and its own Outstanding Music, Visual and General Effect awards, so a band can place in its class without making the finals.

What does Grand Champion mean at an invitational? It’s the band with the top overall score of the day, across every class. Class placements and caption awards are given out separately, so one band can win both, as Cascade did on Saturday.

Can an adaptable show win at this level? Yes. Several of the bands on this page play adaptable shows or a mix of selections from my catalog, adjusted to the band before they started learning it. See how adaptable shows work.

About the author

I’m Evan VanDoren, a composer and arranger based in Austin. I spent nine years as band director at Cedar Park High School, where we won three UIL State Championships, and I now write for Santa Clara Vanguard. My work is published through RWS Music and Alfred Music, and I write adaptable and custom marching band shows for programs across the country.

Sources