On Saturday, October 30, the Golden Knights Marching Band won the USBands New Jersey A-Class State Championship. The band placed first in Group 2A with a score of 90.8, bringing home the first state championship win in district history. 

Although the band was unable to attend the event last year in person due to COVID-19, they returned to the championship this year, in-person, at Union High School. The band was led to victory by senior drum majors Dianne Park and Nick Peterkin, junior drum major Joonhyeok Jun, and band director Ms. Amy Wilcox.

Senior Elena Nunez said that the band’s preparation played a key role in their win. “Our preparation this year was definitely different,” said Nunez. “We made a lot of progress in the beginning of the season, and because of that we were able to do a lot of nitty-gritty detailing with the music and really polish up our performance.” 

According to Wilcox, the band’s success came with an improved mindset. “We just kept everybody calm, and honestly the rehearsal we had was outstanding,” said Wilcox, “Every rehearsal we had this year was outstanding. But there was something amazing about Saturday.” 

As the season comes to an end, student teacher Kevin Schaarschmidt believes that the team’s energy will set a new precedent for the band. “There’s this new level of performance and pride in our work,” said Schaarschmidt. “I definitely think this will set the marching band on a course to keep striving for greatness.” 

Students can see the marching band’s award-winning performance at this Friday’s football game.