Change is unstoppable: Undefeated Bluecoats grab gold

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s a challenging climb up to the top of the drum corps world. It’s even harder to get back to that mountaintop. 

Bluecoats have experienced a significant amount of success since the corps’ first DCI World Championship title in 2016. But the road back has also featured a few close calls. 

Rather than dwell on the past, the Canton, Ohio corps, instead chose to make the 2024 DCI season about achieving excellence. 

 “I think the Bluecoats have just gotten used to making greatness this season, and it just gets more consistent, which is all we can ask for,” Bluecoats drum major Tony Gamez said Thursday night after the corps’ Prelims run. 

View all scores from the 2024 DCI World Championship Finals

After a series of three-consecutive seasons ending with a silver medal, Bluecoats’ pursuit of the activity’s acme finally ends with this one phrase — 2024 DCI World Champions. 

Bluecoats become the eighth corps in DCI history to win multiple World Championship titles after clinching the 2024 title Saturday night inside Lucas Oil Stadium. 

“There are no words to describe tonight,” Bluecoats drum major Tony Gamez said. “I thought everything was perfect. We bought the energy and everything just came together. I wouldn’t ask for anything else.” 

 

1. Bluecoats » 98.750
2. Boston Crusaders » 97.413
3. Blue Devils » 97.075

Bluecoats took home the Jim Ott Award for Best Brass Performance, the Don Angelica Award for Outstanding General Effect, and the John Brazale Award for Best Visual Performance. The Canton, Ohio corps earned its highest score of all time with a tally of 98.750. 

Boston Crusaders earned the silver medal Saturday night, as well as the corps’ fourth George Zingali Award for Best Color Guard since 2018. 

With a score of 97.413, the Massachusetts corps also set its all-time highest Finals score, while matching its highest-ever placement, previously earned in 2022. 

“Tonight’s run was awesome,” Boston Crusaders drum major Wes Booker said. “It’s such a special show with such a special group of people. I’ve just loved performing it.” 

Blue Devils earned an impeccable 16th-consecutive season finishing the summer with at least 97 points, and a medal. The Concord, California corps took second in Visual Proficiency Saturday night. 

 

4. Phantom Regiment » 95.225
5. Carolina Crown » 95.025
6. Santa Clara Vanguard » 93.925

Phantom Regiment completed its strongest competitive season in over a decade Saturday night, ranking fourth overall. The Rockford, Illinois corps has rocketed through the World Class standings since its 12th-place finish in 2019.

“The years that I have marched, from 2020 to 2024, were monumental years for the growth of Phantom Regiment,” Regiment head conductor Keri McCourt said. “I’ve just seen so much. From Phantom going from one of its lower places to where we are now is something really special. The corps, individually and as a whole, were the most open-minded, kind-hearted, mature and talented group that there is.” 

Carolina Crown ranked among the top-5 corps at Saturday’s Finals — the corps hasn’t finished below fifth since 2007. Crown’s strongpoint on the scoresheets was a second-place finish in Brass.

In the corps’ return trip to Indianapolis after a hiatus in 2023, Santa Clara Vanguard posted an impressive sixth-place finish — its 10th year in a row among the top six. Aside from its inactive summer a year ago, Vanguard hasn’t missed out on the Top 12 in DCI history. 

Vanguard took home the Fred Sanford Award for Best Percussion Performance, its sixth in the last decade. 

“Tonight was everything we could ever hope for,” Vanguard drum major Maddy Heintz said. 

 

7. Mandarins » 92.150
8. Blue Stars » 91.600
9. Colts » 89.775

A corps that has now become a staple of DCI’s Saturday night Championship event, having appeared in its fifth-consecutive World Championship Finals. Mandarins’ seventh-place finish serves as the corps’ second-best ever, behind only 2023’s sixth-place ranking.

The Sacramento corps scored as high as sixth in the Visual Proficiency caption. 

“Tonight was definitely bittersweet,” Mandarins drum major Maya McBrayer said. “I’m nothing but proud of everyone. We have a lot of performers who are aging out tonight, so it was bittersweet to share the field with them and be the 2024 Mandarins one last time.” 

Blue Stars served as one of the 2024 DCI Tour’s most-improved corps, rising from 11th place a year ago to eighth place this summer. The La Crosse, Wisconsin corps — completing the celebration of its 60th anniversary — ranked an impressive sixth in color guard. 

Colts — who returned to the finalist pool in 2022 after 15 years away from performing in the Saturday event — earned a second-consecutive ninth-place finish, matching the corps’ all-time best ranking.

 

10. Troopers » 88.950
11. The Cavaliers » 87.500
12. Madison Scouts » 87.050

Troopers clinched back-to-back summers in the Top 10 in their third-consecutive Finals appearance. The Casper, Wyoming corps ranked eighth in Percussion and ninth in Brass.

“Tonight’s run was absolutely spectacular,” Troopers drum major Tarek Murray said. “I think in my six years of drum corps, that’s easily the most electric run I’ve ever had.” 

The Cavaliers fended off Madison Scouts by 0.45 points and rounded out the 2024 season in 11th place, continuing a streak of 43-consecutive Finals appearances. The Green Machine impressively ranked seventh in percussion. 

“This has been a big season of perseverance,” Cavaliers drum major David Harrell said. “We’ve pushed through a lot of difficult times, but we did it as a big brotherhood and that’s the biggest thing I can ask for from the guys.” 

Madison Scouts closed out a very successful 2024 season in 12th place, up four placements in the DCI leaderboard from 2023’s 16th-place finish. The Wisconsin corps outscored The Cavaliers in General Effect, Music Analysis and Total Visual in its first Finals appearance since 2017.

“I feel very loved, and I feel at home with this organization,” Madison Scouts drum major Paige Shumney said. “I could not have imagined aging out in any other way.” 

The DCI World Championships will return to Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium August 7-9, 2025. 

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