WD Eagle Joins U.S. Army All-American Bowl

Don’t forget to tune in on Jan. 5 as one of West Deptford’s own takes the field at the U.S. Army-All American Bowl, hosted at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX. One of 125 members selected nationally to be part of the All-American Marching Band, West Deptford Eagle Catlin Fenning will join the color guard ensemble during the band’s halftime performance.

The game is set to begin at 1 p.m. and will air live on NBC.

Fenning was officially inducted into the All-American Marching Band at the high school on Sept. 28. Of those in attendance were high school principal Dr. Brian Gismondi, band director Tom Kershaw, Mayor Raymond Chintall, Committeeman Samuel Cianfarini, representatives of the U.S Army and the entire West Deptford marching band. 

Fenning was also later awarded a proclamation on Oct. 4 by the West Deptford Township Committee to honor her grand achievement. 

"I'm really happy to represent my school," says Fenning. "It's a great opportunity and I can't wait."

Leaving on Dec. 31, Fenning says the first thing she must do when she gets to San Antonio is get to the Alamodome where she will be fitted for her marching band uniform.

Leading up to her departure, Fenning has been practicing about two hours everyday on the drills that were sent to her. When in San Antonio, she will join the rest of the marching band in practice all day long, every day leading up to the bowl. During practice, she will work with everything from rifles to flags to swing flags.

So far, Fenning says it's still pretty surreal for her. 

Being to California and Chicago with her marching band, this is the first time Fenning will be in Texas, as well as go there alone. Yet, while she has never been away from her family on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, this one in a lifetime experience is worth it, says Fenning. 

Fenning is the first Eagle to ever join U.S. Army All-American Bowl. She and 24 others were selected to be part of the band’s color guard out of 1,300 nominations from 47 states.

After being nominated by both Gismondi and Kershaw, Fenning was selected after submitting a taped audition of herself. She will represent South Jersey in the All-American Bowl, alongside Eli Woodward of Eastern Camden County Regional High School and Greg Webb of Timber Creek Regional High School.  

In 2012, the U.S. Army All-American Bowl was the most watched sporting event on television during the weekend besides the NFL playoffs. A crowd of 39,011 gathered under Alamodome to view the event.

Past All-American Bowls have featured current NFL stars, such as Andrew Luck, Tim Tebow, and Adrian Peterson.

For more information on the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, visit the event’s official website.