Blue Devils B makes strong opening statement against West Coast competition

WALNUT, California — Quickly finding their groove in the early days of the 2024 DCI Tour, Blue Devils B cruised to their second-straight first-place finish of the DCI season on Saturday night. 

Corps returned to Mt. San Antonio College’s Hilmer Lodge Stadium on June 29 for the second night of Corps at the Crest. 

“Tonight’s run was amazing,” Blue Devils B drum major Gabriel Jarata said. “We’ve really improved over the span of our spring training. Our timing was impeccable tonight, and I just want us to keep going to the top.” 

1: Blue Devils B » 63.700
2: Gold » 59.450
3: Vessel » 50.000
4: Impulse » 49.150
5: Blue Devils C » 45.800

Blue Devils B finished ahead of Gold for the second-consecutive night, widening the gap between the two corps to just over four points. The corps earned top marks in every caption Saturday night, and improved their score by 1.75 points, more than any other Open or World Class corps between Friday and Saturday night.  

Improving their score by just under a half a point, Gold earned another second-place finish Saturday night with second-place scores across all captions.

 

Saturday night’s Open Class leaderboard featured a bit of a shuffle, with Vessel jumping one placement to third. The San Dimas corps’ scoring swing from Friday night was fueled by third-place marks in general effect, music analysis and percussion. 

Impulse finished fourth Saturday night. The Buena Park corps’ strongest marks came in the visual caption, earning third overall. According to Impulse drum major Lana Zeilinger, the corps is continuing to find their footing through their early-season events. 

“I'm so excited to see this corps grow,” said Zeilinger. “I’m excited for everyone's confidence levels to boost and for everyone to slowly become more connected. As you become more connected, you become a team and when we become a team, our drum corps performance is the best it can possibly be.”

Blue Devils C rounded out the Open Class competition with a score of 45.800. 

1: Blue Devils » 77.100
2: Santa Clara Vanguard » 72.350
3: Mandarins » 71.250
4: Pacific Crest » 62.700

Blue Devils were, once again, seated at the top of the World Class leaderboard Saturday night, improving their score by a half a point. The Devils took first in every caption on the scoresheet and were the only World Class corps to improve their score night-over-night. 

Seeing the corps’ name atop of the leaderboard is a humbling moment, but drum major Dina Bratanovic says that the corps is focused on “playing to the whistle,” and saving the best version of the corps for the end of the season. 

“It’s an experience that we’re always grateful for,” Bratanovic said. “It’s something you never want to take for granted. But, at the same time, we haven’t hit the 100-point goal yet. The goal at the end of the day is to be the most perfect version of a drum corps we can be.” 

On Saturday, Santa Clara Vanguard added a tenth of a point to their spread over the Mandarins. Vanguard took second place in all captions overall and managed to earn the top mark in the percussion achievement subcaption.  

 

Mandarins and Pacific Crest rounded out the competition in the World Class division in third and fourth places respectively. 

Pacific Crest spent the first two shows of their competitive season in front of an energetic hometown crowd at Hilmer Lodge Stadium, a moment drum major Bridget Barragy is grateful to experience. 

“This is my third year with Pacific Crest, so I’ve gotten to really come to know, grow and learn about our community,” Barragy said. “It’s cool to see the number of people we impact.” 

All of the competing groups from Saturday night’s event travel to San Bernardino Valley College for the Western Corps Connection on Sunday, June 30. 

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