Marching Mustangs Win Nationals

The Montville Township High School Marching Band won the Group 3 Open National Championship over the weekend at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., with their show, "Words that Changed the World."

The band performed Sunday under cloudy skies in a warm breeze, scoring better than 17 other top Group 3 open bands in what the U.S. Scholastic Band Association called the tightest of the weekend's competitions.

The second- through fifth-place Group 3 bands all finished within five-tenths of a point of Montville's high score of 97.588. Those bands were Williamstown High School from Williamstown, N.J., Shawnee High School from Medford, N.J., Susquehanna Township High School from Harrisburg, Pa., and, last year's champions, Rancocas Valley Regional High School from Mount Holly, N.J.

Montville also won the Best Visual Performance Caption and the Esprit de Corps Award for the group. The Esprit de Corps Award is given based on the U.S. Marine Corps values of pride, professionalism and patriotism.

Miguel Bolivar, associate director of the Montville Township High School Marching Band, wrote in an entry on his website it was the first time Montville won Nationals since it was started about 10 years ago.

"I’m so very proud of my colleagues and most importantly the performers for their hard work all season," he wrote. "It’s funny as most staff members were rather hesitant all week—I was rather calm and somewhat sure of our placement. That is because I felt the group has had a championship attitude all season and this just verified all of their work and effort. Congrats to the Mustang Band!"

"Words That Changed the World" features recordings of speeches by Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

Bolivar, who also is the band director at , wrote the music for wind instruments. Marching band staff member Joe Bergen wrote the percussion parts and Dave Caravella designed the visual, marching elements of the show.

The band was under the student leadership of drum major Robyn Anderson, assistant drum major Dylan Casler and color guard captain Arnelle Pierre-Louis.