BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Bridgewater-Raritan High School's marching band closed its 2026 competition season with a fifth-place finish at The Garden State Cup on Sunday, Nov. 1, at The College of New Jersey in Ewing.
The program posted a season-high score of 91.85 in the Open Class Finals, according to the school district.
Nick Mossa, co-director of the Bridgewater-Raritan High School Marching Band with Dr. Tom Bourgault, said The Garden State Cup is a newly formed championship event that brings together top bands from around New Jersey in one 15-band competitive field, regardless of class or band size.
In the Open Class Finals, Bridgewater-Raritan finished fifth. The placement put the group ahead of 16 bands that did not qualify for the finals and 10 other bands that competed in the Open Class Finals field.
Bridgewater-Raritan qualified for the Open Class Finals after taking second place at the New Jersey Marching Band Directors Association Class State Championships on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Piscataway High School.
At that competition, the band scored a 90.1 in Class 3, where 10 schools competed. According to the district, that score was almost 15 points higher than the group's previous competitive score.
The results capped a season of steady improvement for the students in the program.
The school described the Nov. 1 performance as the band's best show to date, based on its season-high score at the state championship event.
Mossa said the season's competitive results were only part of the story for the students involved.
"Although the competitive success we've achieved this year is rewarding, the bigger prize is realizing the incredible growth of the band members and the show. I'm so proud of the thousands of success stories written in each band member's journey from June until now," Mossa revealed.
He also thanked the families, student leaders and staff members who supported the program throughout the season.
"I'm very grateful for the band parent community and their perpetual support, our amazing student leadership within the band for giving so much of themselves in service to the program and their peers, and our incredible marching band staff for providing our students with a professionalism and quality of instruction second to none," said Mossa.
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