Prelims Results
9:30 Sachse H.S., TX9:45 McNeil H.S., TX
10:00 Cypress Woods H.S., TX
10:15 James Martin H.S., TX
10:30 Pflugerville H.S., TX
10:45 Robinson H.S., TX
11:00 Round Rock H.S., TX
11:15 Anderson H.S., TX
11:30 Waxahachie H.S., TX
After completing the above prelims performances, the remaining prelims performances and all finals performances at the Waco Regional were cancelled due to inclement weather.
Finals Schedule
Finals competition cancelled due to inclement weather.
States Represented (1)
Texas.
The 2018 Waco, Texas, Regional will be held Oct. 13 at Waco ISD Stadium. The last — and only previous — BOA regional in Waco was held over 20 years ago in 1997. Winston Churchill won the regional with Haltom and The Colony rounding out the top three.
Three bands come to Waco hoping to take home their first regional championship. Cedar Park and Round Rock are both two of the best bands in the country to have never won a regional, even though both have placed in the top half of Grand Nationals and earned class captions along the way. Hendrickson also surged over the last four years in the BOA realm, and still is a contender through their director changes. We particularly loved their show in Austin. For now, we think Cedar Park is best poised to come out on top of this group, having dramatically improved since their surprising placement in Austin prelims. More than most bands, they are known for turning it on in finals, and this weekend should be no different. Round Rock probably would not be mentioned in this paragraph, but-for a penalty in Austin finals in 2015 that pushed them from first to third. Perhaps this is their chance to leave no doubt.
Of course, there is a band that has won its fair share of regional championships, and will look to grab one more. Marcus is also a strong contender for the title, coming off their fourth-place finish at Grand Nationals last November. While they are a little bit of a wild card after losing their esteemed director, if they are keeping neck and neck with a better-than-ever Keller, they should easily make it to the podium Saturday night.
Waxahachie seems to have the easiest path to the last spot in the top half of finals. Their 8th place finish at Bedford in the midst of other rapidly improving groups across the metro area shows that their promise has not begun to fade as they grow into larger competing classes.
A few groups will try to fight for Waxahachie’s spot that all do not often compete directly. Pflugerville grabbed another close finish at BOA Austin, and thus has a strong chance of sliding not only into finals, but perhaps into the middle of the pack. Cypress Falls, unburdened by the hurricane, will be looking to avenge their placement last October at St. Louis. Finally, Waxahachie will have to hope their AAA rivals across the metroplex in Wakeland did not catch up to them over the last week.
Unfortunately, the embarrassment of riches is alive and well in the marching arts in Texas. There are too many good bands in the state, and not all of them can make finals here. Dripping Springs is one band we are looking at to round out the group of ten in central Texas—and not necessarily in tenth place either, after their first regional win last fall and fifth UIL medal. While Westwood did not land quite where we expected them to in Austin, this regional presents another opportunity to make finals in an early regional. However, we count on L.V. Berkner to provide a strong challenge to the aforementioned ten to continuing building on what they began at Midland last fall. Westlake, known for taking a slower approach to the season, could also be a strong bet with a couple more weeks under their belt (and realistically could challenge into the top five). And this regional’s potential surprise that shouldn’t surprise you is North Shore. While UIL and BOA are different, finishing in UIL 6A State Finals is enough to get on our radar.
As with most events in Texas, our partners at txbands.com will be live-blogging the regional. Additionally, FloMarching will be streaming all day. In person, through your phone, or through a streaming platform, this regional is not one to miss.
HornRank Contributor Jameil Brown authored this event preview.
2. Marcus H.S., TX
3. Hendrickson H.S., TX
4. Round Rock H.S., TX
5. Waxahachie H.S., TX
6. Wakeland H.S., TX
7. Dripping Springs H.S., TX
8. Pflugerville H.S., TX
9. Cypress Falls H.S., TX
10. Westwood H.S., TX
Visual: Curtis Costanza, Randy Nelson, Lindsey Vento.
Chief: Richard Saucedo.
Our Thoughts
For the third time in four years, BOA is expanding its stronghold in the state of Texas. Instead of moving to areas underserved by BOA, the Waco regional returns after 21 years to relax the pressure created by the three early season regionals in the Texas Triangle. The line-up in Waco consists of strong bands from Austin, Houston and Dallas alike — all hoping to place a little higher than they might have in their home regional without making a trek to Midland or McAllen. This competition is an exciting addition to the already large slate of regionals, and we cannot wait to see how the day turns out. |
| Cedar Park performs at the Bedford Regional on Oct. 6, 2018, at Pennington Field. // Photo by Jeremiah Wooten |
Of course, there is a band that has won its fair share of regional championships, and will look to grab one more. Marcus is also a strong contender for the title, coming off their fourth-place finish at Grand Nationals last November. While they are a little bit of a wild card after losing their esteemed director, if they are keeping neck and neck with a better-than-ever Keller, they should easily make it to the podium Saturday night.
Waxahachie seems to have the easiest path to the last spot in the top half of finals. Their 8th place finish at Bedford in the midst of other rapidly improving groups across the metro area shows that their promise has not begun to fade as they grow into larger competing classes.
A few groups will try to fight for Waxahachie’s spot that all do not often compete directly. Pflugerville grabbed another close finish at BOA Austin, and thus has a strong chance of sliding not only into finals, but perhaps into the middle of the pack. Cypress Falls, unburdened by the hurricane, will be looking to avenge their placement last October at St. Louis. Finally, Waxahachie will have to hope their AAA rivals across the metroplex in Wakeland did not catch up to them over the last week.
Unfortunately, the embarrassment of riches is alive and well in the marching arts in Texas. There are too many good bands in the state, and not all of them can make finals here. Dripping Springs is one band we are looking at to round out the group of ten in central Texas—and not necessarily in tenth place either, after their first regional win last fall and fifth UIL medal. While Westwood did not land quite where we expected them to in Austin, this regional presents another opportunity to make finals in an early regional. However, we count on L.V. Berkner to provide a strong challenge to the aforementioned ten to continuing building on what they began at Midland last fall. Westlake, known for taking a slower approach to the season, could also be a strong bet with a couple more weeks under their belt (and realistically could challenge into the top five). And this regional’s potential surprise that shouldn’t surprise you is North Shore. While UIL and BOA are different, finishing in UIL 6A State Finals is enough to get on our radar.
As with most events in Texas, our partners at txbands.com will be live-blogging the regional. Additionally, FloMarching will be streaming all day. In person, through your phone, or through a streaming platform, this regional is not one to miss.
HornRank Contributor Jameil Brown authored this event preview.
Predictions
1. Cedar Park H.S., TX2. Marcus H.S., TX
3. Hendrickson H.S., TX
4. Round Rock H.S., TX
5. Waxahachie H.S., TX
6. Wakeland H.S., TX
7. Dripping Springs H.S., TX
8. Pflugerville H.S., TX
9. Cypress Falls H.S., TX
10. Westwood H.S., TX
Adjudication Panel
Music: Randy Greenwell, Andy Sealy, Vince Tornello, and Ken Turner.Visual: Curtis Costanza, Randy Nelson, Lindsey Vento.
Chief: Richard Saucedo.
