MHS Band Wins Battle of the Bands

The Wildcat Marching Band took won its division last weekend in the 50th Annual Chaffey Field Tournament, the longest running battle of the bands competition in southern California, the band's director said.

Moving up to the 2A division--made up of bands with between 51 and 70 members--for the first time, the Wildcats took first place in the band competition, first place for percussion, and second place for color guard.

"What we're taking from this is that we're really happy we did this well our first time out," said MHS band director Daniel Magallanes. "Even though we moved up with bigger fish in a bigger pond, we're still competitive."

The 53-member band added a few members this year after previously competing in the smallest division, Magallanes said. They performed "Laws of Motion," an original composition by John Meehan based on Newton's laws of motion, he said.

The Wildcats will be competing in four more tournaments before Thanksgiving in an effort to qualify for the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association championships on Dec. 4.