Marching Band Contest Results: October 3, 2026 Recap

Oct 5, 2026 | News

Marching Band Contest Results: October 3, 2026 Recap

A stormy Saturday with a lot to celebrate

These are the marching band contest results from Saturday, October 3, 2026, for the bands performing my shows this fall. Storms rolled across Texas all day. Start times slid by hours, and HEB and McKinney cancelled finals outright. The bands still showed up and played like it was November.

Here are the headlines. Rouse and Cedar Park went 1-2 at the Vista Ridge Marching Festival, just 0.025 apart. Argyle won Class 5A at HEB and swept every 5A caption it could. Goshen and Ryle each placed in the top two of Class AAA at Bands of America regionals in Toledo and Louisville. Davenport won the USBands San Antonio Regional, and Hendersonville posted the top score of the day at Bandapalooza in Tennessee.

I was a band director for nine years. I remember what it takes to get a full band through warmup, a weather delay and a performance with their focus intact. Every director and student below earned this one.

Vista Ridge Marching Festival: Rouse and Cedar Park go 1-2

The closest finish of the weekend happened in my own backyard. Twenty bands marched prelims at Gupton Stadium in Cedar Park, and two of my custom-show programs ended up at the top.

BandShowPrelimsFinals
Rouse HSOut Of Print: A World Built From Stories2nd, 85.0001st, 85.400
Cedar Park HSThe Heart Within1st, 85.6752nd, 85.375

Cedar Park led after prelims by 0.675. Rouse came back that night and won finals by 0.025, which is about as close as a contest gets. Both shows are custom builds, written from the ground up for those two bands. I taught at Cedar Park for nine years, so watching them trade places with Rouse at the top of a 20-band field was a strange and happy night for me.

Weiss HS, performing a mix of selections from my catalog, also made finals and placed 6th (76.775). Official recaps: finals and prelims.

Cedar Park’s run at BOA Austin last fall is in last year’s recap, if you want to see how this season compares.

HEB and McKinney: weather-shortened, still strong

The Metroplex got the worst of the storms. HEB at Pennington Field started more than three hours late and ran prelims only. McKinney also skipped finals. Neither host had posted official recaps as of Sunday night, so these numbers come from posted prelims results.

BandShowContestResult
Argyle HSTheia’s LightHEB Marching Contest1st in 5A, 3rd overall (80.85)
Aledo HSThe Other Side of HereHEB Marching Contest3rd in 6A, 4th overall (79.40)
Wylie HSLunaMcKinney Marching Invitational2nd overall
Reedy HSDrawn TogetherMcKinney Marching Invitational6th overall

Argyle’s day stands out. Along with the 5A title, they took the 5A awards for music, visual, general effect and color guard. Aledo finished behind only Marcus and Southlake Carroll among the 6A bands, which is a tough pair to chase in October.

At McKinney, Wylie placed 2nd in a field of more than a dozen bands and won the color guard award. Reedy finished 6th. Both shows still have a month of cleaning ahead before UIL, and I like where they’re headed. If your band is gearing up for that stretch, my list of ways to make your show stand out at UIL Area is worth a read.

Houston area: Clear Lake and Atascocita

Clear Lake, performing Of Faun and Fable, placed 3rd in Class AAA at the Iowa Colony Regional at Alvin ISD’s Freedom Field, scoring 78.500 in prelims. They finished 14th overall and just missed the 12-band finals cut. That’s an early-season number in a deep field, with most of the season still ahead. Full scores are on HornRank.

Across town, Atascocita, performing mixed selections, placed 2nd overall at the Galena Park ISD Marching Band Festival and won the woodwind award. Woodwind awards don’t happen by accident. That’s a section doing its homework on tone and balance, and it’s a nice payoff for the director who keeps pushing it.

USBands San Antonio Regional: Davenport wins

Six of my bands marched the USBands San Antonio Regional, and all of them made the 13-band finals.

BandShowPrelimsFinals
Davenport HSMixed selections1st in Group IV, 82.41st, 83.3
Orange Grove HSMixed selections1st in Group II, 76.15th, 76.4
MacArthur HS (San Antonio)Mixed selections3rd in Group III, 75.18th, 74.1
Wimberley HSEmpire City2nd in Group II, 70.810th, 70.5
Southside HSMixed selections3rd in Group II, 70.711th, 68.1
Memorial HS (San Antonio)Mixed selections1st in Group I (only band in the group), 65.113th, 63.1

Davenport won Group IV in prelims and then won the regional by 1.8 points over John M. Harlan. Orange Grove won Group II, with Wimberley and Southside right behind them in the same group. Six bands playing my shows at one contest is a lot of my music in one stadium, and I’m grateful to every one of those directors. Official scores are on the USBands event page.

More Texas results

BandShowContestResult
Long Creek HSMixed selectionsWarrior Coliseum Invitational, San Antonio1st in 5A prelims with 5A Music and General Effect, 4th in finals
Lamar HS (Arlington)FiveUSBands North Texas Regional, Fort Worth2nd in Group II, 78.1
Farmersville HSMixed selectionsMelissa Marching Showcase (Small School)4th of 12 in finals
Denison HSMixed selectionsAubrey Marching Classic10th in finals
Andrews HSMixed selectionsTumbleweed Classic, Denver City6th in Large School
Stevens HSMixed selectionsVista Ridge Marching FestivalDid not make finals
Van Alstyne HS…the Sun, the Moon, and all the StarsMelissa Marching Showcase (Small School)Did not make finals

Long Creek won Class 5A in prelims at Warrior Coliseum and took the 5A music and general effect awards before finishing 4th at night. Lamar placed 2nd in Group II at the USBands North Texas Regional, behind Eagle Mountain. Farmersville made the Melissa small-school finals and finished 4th.

Bands of America regional results: Goshen and Ryle

Two of my bands outside Texas marched Bands of America regionals on Saturday, and both made finals.

BandShowRegionalClass AAAFinals
Goshen HS (IN)The Shape of Things to ComeNorthwest Ohio, Toledo1st, with all three class captions2nd of 12, 82.100
Ryle HS (KY)Mixed selectionsKentucky, Louisville2nd4th of 12, 79.050

Goshen won Class AAA and swept the class awards for music, visual and general effect. In finals they placed 2nd overall behind Jenison. Ryle took 2nd in Class AAA in a 30-band field and finished 4th in finals, ahead of Campbell County and Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Goshen’s show is a new one I wrote for them this year. Ryle is running a mix of selections from my catalog of adaptable marching band shows, adjusted to fit their instrumentation and strengths. Results like these are why I build every show to flex. A director shouldn’t have to choose between a show that fits their band and one that can compete.

Arizona, Tennessee, Indiana and Massachusetts

BandShowContestResult
Mountain Ridge HS (AZ)Mixed selectionsDesert Ridge Invitational, Mesa1st of 6 in Division I, 83.500
Highland HS (AZ)Mixed selectionsDesert Ridge Invitational, Mesa4th of 6 in Division I, 78.225
Boulder Creek HS (AZ)Mixed selectionsDesert Ridge Invitational, Mesa6th of 6 in Division I, 73.238
Hendersonville HS (TN)MidnightBandapalooza, Portland1st in Primetime, 91.167, 1st in percussion and color guard, top sweepstakes score of the day (91.717)
Lake Central HS (IN)A Picture’s WorthISSMA Scholastic Invitational, PlymouthGold rating with Music, Visual and Effect distinctions
Everett HS (MA)Mixed selectionsUSBands at B.M.C. Durfee, Fall River1st in Open Group IV (only band in the group), 78.0

Mountain Ridge won Division I at Desert Ridge one week after winning the BOA Arizona Regional. Hendersonville won its division at Bandapalooza and swept the band, percussion and color guard scores, with the highest sweepstakes total of any band there. Lake Central earned a Gold rating with all three distinctions.

What’s next

The calendar only gets busier from here. More BOA regionals and UIL region contests land over the next three weekends, and I’ll post marching band contest results for my bands as they come in. Congratulations to every student, director and staff member who made October 3 worth writing about.

If you’re already thinking about next fall, browse the 2026 show catalog or start sketching your own with the Build Your Show tool. When you’re ready to talk it through, reach out here and we can set up a call.

FAQ

Where can I find official marching band contest results? Bands of America posts class awards and finals scores on each regional’s results page at marching.musicforall.org. Texas invitationals usually post recaps through CompetitionSuite, and many fans share scores on HornRank and TxBands.

Why didn’t some contests hold finals on October 3? Severe weather delayed several Texas contests by hours. HEB and McKinney ran prelims only and cancelled finals to keep students safe.

Do your adaptable shows hold up against custom shows at contests? Yes. Ryle placed 2nd in Class AAA at the BOA Kentucky Regional this weekend with a mix of selections from my catalog, and Atascocita placed 2nd at Galena Park the same way. Every show is adjusted to the band’s instrumentation and strengths before they start learning it, which is what lets it compete. 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.

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