by Tenya Avila, Nohea Jensen, Emily Stumpf

The MHS winter guard attended eval (evaluation show) at Northridge High School in Utah on Saturday, January 14. They performed their show, entitled “New Shoes”, for the first time to determine which division they will be placed in for the rest of the season.

Winter guards perform inside (usually in a gym) to recorded music where as color guard performs outside with a marching band. Although it is not a traditional sport, winter guard is well-known in Utah, Nevada and California. Guards from those states compete against each other in the Utah Color Guard Circuit (UCGC) in front of a panel of judges.

Nerves were mounting for Sophomores Elliana Miller and Michael Magnone, both experiencing their first year of competitive winter guard.

“[I was afraid of] tripping and falling on my face because I have a habit of doing that when I’m nervous,” Miller said.

Even the upperclassmen were nervous for this performance. The guard has had several different coaches in just a few years, but the team has handled it well. Sydney Rossitter, the current guard coach, is working hard with the guard to help them have a good season and feel good about their performances.

“It’ll be difficult. We’ve got a lot of good teams in our division, and we’ve taken a step back from where we have been,” Junior Allyn Forbush said. “But if we work hard and just get it done and focus at every practice, and actually practice outside of rehearsal, we’ll succeed.”
After  performing on January 14, the MHS winter guard was placed in the Scholastic Regional A division, one of the top high school divisions in the UCGC.