Aledo High School Bearcat Regiment Earns 5th at UIL State
Aledo High School Bearcat Regiment Earns 5th at UIL State
ALEDO, Texas, November 7, 2024 - In its 50-year history, never has the Aledo Bearcat Regiment performed such an intricate and challenging show as their 2024 show “On the Throttle.” And, consequently, never in a half century has the Aledo marching band finished so high at the UIL state marching band competition.
On Tuesday night, having narrowed the 247 Class 5A bands in the state to 38 state qualifiers and then 12 finalists, the Bearcat Regiment’s near-flawless performance helped them to be recognized as the fifth-best marching band in Texas at the annual culmination of the UIL marching season at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
“We are so proud of the student’s efforts this year,” Aledo Director of Bands Joey Paul said. “From the beginning of summer band, they took a more mature approach to individual accountability and they never let up. On The Throttle is a show that the students very quickly made an emotional connection with, and it was very apparent they were bought in to doing whatever it took to perfect this show.”
“The band directors felt like rock stars after each competition due to the amount of people approaching them and praising both the students' performance as well as the engaging design of the visual and musical elements.” Paul said.
On the Throttle had four parts: Pressure by Stephen Baysted, Ominous, with building intensity, from Symphony No 3 by Kimberly Archer, Whisper of a Thrill by Thomas Newman and Asphalt Cocktail by John Mackey. The show featured, among other things, 40 choreographed Wind moments, drills that were boxes, curves, diagonals, scatters, pods, lines and circles, and moments where wind player's sound would be severely delayed if they did not anticipate the battery/drum major's time, which is one of the hardest things to do in marching band.
The show was meticulously planned on a theme of an F1 driver who has attitude, confidence, strength and heart. Band members wore uniforms designed to imitate an F1 driver uniform with bright red and yellow in front and black in back. They used the colors of the uniforms to match the music and take your eye to the key areas of the field, even brightening visually with a crescendo.
“We are so proud of the Bearcat Regiment being rewarded for their incredibly hard work,” Aledo ISD Superintendent Dr. Susan Bohn said. “Early mornings and late nights, intricate formations and difficult music - it all came together with a history-making finish. The entire band program is All In on being the very best they can be, and that was evident with On the Throttle. Congratulations to all involved!”
The Bearcat Regiment’s 215 performers were led by student Drum Majors Isabella Stamper, James Leising, Jackson Sirois and Gracie Isaacs. Along with Paul, the assistant directors for the Bearcat Regiment are Jake Albin, Dexx Moore and Scott Stephens as well as colorguard director Junior Marquez.
Aledo finished sixth in 2000 (3A) and 2007 (4A). It was the fifth time in the last six tries the Bearcat Regiment has advanced to finals. Prior to 2024, bands only competed for state every other year. Last year, with their “Havana Nights” show, the Bearcat Regiment finished 13th in prelims, just one place out of advancing to the finals.
This year in Class 5A, Cedar Park High School won its sixth consecutive state marching band championship title; Leander Rouse High School finished second and Leander High School third. Frisco Wakeland High School and Aledo tied for fourth but Wakeland placed fourth after winning the tiebreaker, which is determined by overall music scores.
The Bearcat Regiment had several other competitive successes prior to the State Marching Contest this season which include: a third-place finish at the HEB Marching Contest, and second place in class AAA and 10th place in finals at Bands Of America DFW. They were named class AAA Champions as well as won the visual, music and general effect captions and fifth place in finals at BOA Waco. The Bearcat Regiment earned its 30th consecutive 1st division rating at the UIL Regional Marching Contest, and they were the UIL Area F Marching Contest Champions for the fourth consecutive season.
Photo Credit: AHS student Breleigh Mayer