After taking home the area title for the fourth straight year, the Bearcat Regiment prepares to return to state following a clap out Thursday, Oct. 31, to celebrate both band and cross country heading to state finals.

The band will perform at the Alamodome for the preliminary round Monday, Nov. 4, at 4:30 p.m.

“Going to state this year is amazing,” sophomore Clara Albin said. “This wonderful opportunity has opened up for me and the entire band. The Bearcat Regiment has never had so much potential.”

The Bearcat Regiment members cleared area to make their way to state, but that’s nothing new for the musicians.

“I’m honestly not surprised that we made area,” senior Jude McDonald said. “I thought we had a very good chance of making it. I believe in our team.”

While students are confident in their abilities, others are more determined to keep the momentum rolling by remaining locked in.

“We need to focus on what’s coming up,” senior Michael DeLapp said. “Make sure we keep that focus through the end of the season. I know we put in the work to do it.”

Last year, the Bearcat Regiment fell short at state, but that has made the musicians hungry for more.

“I’m excited to get back there this year to hopefully do way better and improve with our show this year,” junior Luke Bogner said. “Preparing for state is a long process, and it takes lots of tedious hard work. We had long rehearsal days, especially in the last few weeks.”

According to junior Andrew Boykin, the band directors are fine tuning the students’ skills to make it to the top at state. 

“They filmed us during runs, so we could see what to improve,” Boykin said. “We’ve been working hard and have had a lot of early mornings and late nights,” Boykin said. “They filmed us during runs, so we could see what to improve. It will be a challenge, but if we trust our training, we can go far.”

The students have put in the work for this show, and they said they are ready for state.

“I’m so proud of the band for making it first,” McDonald said. “We’ve put in so much work to make it here but we got to keep working hard to make finals at state.”