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On November 7th, the Cavalier's competitive season came to a close with their final performance at the BandBEAT Championships hosted by Carolina Crown, Yamaha Instruments, The Arts and Science Council of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Inc, East Lincoln High School, and Nation Ford High School. The season has been an exciting one for the Cavaliers, with many positives and a great deal of success.

The season started with Cavaliers debuting their show at the William Byrd Preview of Champions. The Cavaliers received Best Music, Best Marching, Best Effect, a rating of Excellent, and 1st Place Band in their classification. The band then prepared for the Mountain Magic Invitational at James River. The band received 2nd Place Music, 1st Place Marching, 1st Place General Effect, 2nd Place Colorguard, 2nd Place Percussion, a rating of Superior, and 1st Place Band in their class. The band continued their success at the Patrick County Celebration of Pride. The band earned 2nd Place Drum Major, 2nd Place Percussion, 1st Place Colorguard, 1st Place Colorguard, 1st Place Music, 1st Place Marching, 1st Place General Effect, a rating of Superior, 1st Place in their class, and they were also recognized as having the highest band score of the day when they received the William Ponds Band of The Day trophy.

Following the Patrick County competition the band hosted 14 bands at the annual Cavalier Classic held at Lord Botetourt High School. The following week the Cav's prepared for the USSBA Virginia State Championships. After their strongest performance of the year, the band left the field with an unspoken feeling that they had performed their best show to date. After their performance, the band relaxed and enjoyed watching the performances of the other bands in competition. At the awards ceremony that night, the band learned that their hard work and efforts had been noticed by the judges. The band received Best Effect, Best Music, Best Visual, and Best Colorguard in Group III A, earning them the Virginia State Championship title for their classification. Their final competition, BandBEAT, provided the band with a great experience. After traveling for several hours, the band had the privilege of competing against some of the finest bands on the East Coast.

"The group has worked extremely hard this year. The experiences and success they have had will not be easily forgotten. I could not be more proud of the group. Their leadership abilities and the way they carried themselves was evident everywhere we went. I couldn't ask for a better group."

submitted by- Chris Caldwell