Pacific Northwest corps grab final two Top 25 spots at highly-competitive Indianapolis Prelims

INDIANAPOLIS — The journey to Lucas Oil Stadium requires months of preparation and rehearsals, in hopes of ultimately joining the Top 25 corps that reach the DCI World Championship Semifinals and beyond. For two Pacific Northwest corps, that dream was realized during Thursday’s DCI World Championship Prelims presented by Band Today.

Seattle Cascades — returning to the field at Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time since 2019 — finished in 25th place after a performance drum major Dallan Heard calls “the most rewarding” moment of his drum corps career.

“All the hard work, sweat, blood and tears really paid off because at that final bow, I saw that the crowd was standing up and I knew that we had made it,” Heard said.

Joining the Seattle Cascades, fellow Washington-based corps Columbians impressed in its first-ever Lucas Oil Stadium and DCI World Championships appearance, earning Semifinalist status in just its 10th year as a participating corps.

The corps’ first trip to Lucas Oil Stadium was also a reminder to drum major Korey Tucker of just how far the Pacific Northwest corps has literally and figuratively come.

“It was amazing,” Tucker said. “We are very much used to playing in high school stadiums and having rehearsals on grass fields that can barely be considered a field, so being able to step out onto the greatest stage in the world for drum corps was absolutely amazing.”

 

1. Blue Devils » 97.688
2. Carolina Crown » 96.975
3. Bluecoats » 96.688
4. Boston Crusaders » 96.300

Blue Devils — whose undefeated season saw its advantage slim to less than half a point over the week leading into championship events — slightly extended its breathing room at Thursday’s Prelims, outscoring the full pack by 0.713 points.

The Concord, California corps, in search of its 21st World Championship title, took first in all captions except percussion and brass.

“That was the first run where I felt completely consumed by what we were doing on the field,” Blue Devils drum major Corey Castillo said. “I can tell from hearing everybody and looking at everybody perform that they’re feeling the same thing. We reached a new level tonight, which is super rewarding for all the work we’ve put in.”

Carolina Crown earned a slim edge of 0.287 points over Bluecoats for the second-place position, outsourcing the Canton, Ohio corps by a hair in both general effect and overall music. Bluecoats earned a close lead in visual, as the corps vie for top positions down the stretch of the 2023 DCI Tour.

Carolina Crown also took first place in the brass caption.

“We’re not letting a score define our season,” Carolina Crown drum major Cooper St. John said. “It’s really helping us to just continue to drive ‘till the end, make sure we make the most of the season and make sure we all stick together throughout the end.”

Boston Crusaders landed in a close fourth place, just under four tenths behind Bluecoats and keeping within tight distance of the top three largely thanks to strong scores in color guard and percussion.

 

5. The Cadets » 93.688
6. Mandarins » 93.363
7. Phantom Regiment » 92.675
8. The Cavaliers » 91.788

A slim 0.325 points separated The Cadets and Mandarins for the last spot in the top five, with general effect playing a major role in the Erie, Pennsylvania corps’ lead. Mandarins, however, extended the corps’ lead over Phantom Regiment to 0.688 points for a spot in the top six, while the Rockford, Illinois corps scored ahead of Mandarins in visual proficiency.

“Tonight’s run was wonderful,” Mandarins drum major Milo Bezuidenhout said. “It’s such a pleasure to be performing in Lucas Oil.”

The Cavaliers earned an impressive 1st place in percussion and remained within close striking distance of Phantom Regiment — the closest the two have been all season head-to-head — thanks especially to strong music scores.

 

9. Colts » 90.175
10. Blue Stars » 89.363
11. Troopers » 89.163

Colts made an impressive statement in Thursday’s Prelims, scoring ahead of Blue Stars for the first time this season and ahead of Troopers for the first time since July 22 in San Antonio, Texas. In impressive fashion in their 60th anniversary season Colts broke 90 points for the first time in the corps’ history.

Blue Stars finished ahead of Troopers after scoring behind the Casper, Wyoming corps at the two corps’ most recent meeting. The La Crosse, Wisconsin corps’ visual scores were a difference-maker, as Troopers outscored Blue Stars in general effect and overall music.

“We had a fantastic run,” Blue Stars drum major Mattie Kleespies said. “A lot of the work we’ve been putting in the past couple days really showed up tonight.”

 

12. Blue Knights » 86.650
13. Crossmen » 86.338
14. Pacific Crest » 85.000
15. Spirit of Atlanta » 84.838

A close race unfolded for the final spot amongst the Top 12, with one more day of competition to vie for finalist positions.

Coming out of Thursday, Blue Knights held the coveted 12th spot, with an advantage of just 0.312 points over Crossmen, largely lifted by strong general effect scores. Crossmen ranked ahead of the Denver, Colorado corps in overall music and visual analysis.

“It felt like we were reclaiming what was ours,” Blue Knights drum major Laynie Metsker said about the corps’ emotions toward Thursday’s performance. “That’s a part of our whole plotline; breaking free from things that have held you back before and propelling yourself forward to achieve the goals you want.”

Pacific Crest — which finished an impressive 11th in color guard — earned a slim lead of just 0.162 points over Spirit of Atlanta, and outscored both Blue Knights and Crossmen in overall visual. The Diamond Bar, California’s 14th-place finish would match its all-time best if maintained through Friday’s Semifinals.

Not far behind, Spirit of Atlanta outscored Pacific Crest by a strong margin in overall music, and a tight margin in general effect, keeping things close.

“It’s great,” Spirit of Atlanta drum major Blake Durden said about Thursday’s crowd. “We’ve had a full year of rebuilding and reloading. To be back here after, really, three years away from competitive action is really awesome and to have all the fans in the crowd here behind us means the absolute world to us.”

 

16. Madison Scouts » 83.525
17. The Academy » 82.588
17. Music City » 82.588
19. Spartans » 81.913
20. Gold » 79.250
21. Genesis » 79.088
22. Southwind » 77.438

Madison Scouts — who opened up a slim advantage over The Academy August 7 in Cincinnati — kept that lead intact over both the Arizona corps and Music City thanks especially to strong scores in general effect. The Wisconsin corps also scored ahead of Spirit of Atlanta in visual analysis.

“It really felt like this run was what we’ve been working toward,” Madison Scouts drum major Carter Doby said about Thursday’s performance. “Of course, Lucas Oil is where we all set our sights on, but I really feel like the corps showed up today and did everything we asked of them.”

Music City and The Academy found themselves in a 17th-place tie, just under seven tenths ahead of Spartans. The Nashville corps scored as high as 15th place in percussion, while The Academy outscored Music City in visual overall.

“It was exceptional,” Music City drum major Connor McCary said. “It’s been a dream to get here. There are a lot of emotions, but I’m just so incredibly excited to be here today.”

Spartans posted an impressive 19th-place finish Thursday, which would match the corps’ highest-ever overall World Championship ranking should it hold in Friday’s Semifinals. The Nashua, New Hampshire corps scored as high as 16th in overall visual.

Fresh off of its second-consecutive Open Class silver medal, Gold earned a spot in the Top 20 and fended off Genesis by a close margin of 0.162. Genesis scored ahead of the San Diego corps in general effect, but Gold’s visual scores made the difference in its razor-thin advantage.

Southwind, which earned a historic Open Class bronze medal Tuesday as part of its breakout 2023 competitive season, continued its string of accomplishments with a first Semifinalist bid since returning to competition as an Open Class corps in 2014. The Alabama corps outscored Genesis in overall visual.

 

23. Jersey Surf » 76.238
24. Columbians » 76.088
25. Seattle Cascades » 76.050
26. The Battalion » 74.725
27. Guardians » 74.575

Jersey Surf earned a second-consecutive spot in the DCI World Championship Semifinals with its Prelims performance.

“I thought that was 100 percent the most energetic run we’ve had,” Jersey Surf drum major Jonathan Shenal said. “We’ve built a lot of momentum over the last week and we brought down the house here in Indianapolis.”

The New Jersey corps joined Columbians and Seattle Cascades among the Top 25, scoring as high as 21st in music analysis, while Columbians earned 22nd in general effect and Cascades finished 19th in percussion.

After a top-five finish at Tuesday’s Open Class Finals, The Battalion held onto a slim advantage of just 0.15 points over Guardians, earning a strong margin of victory in general effect, despite the Texas corps’ leads in the overall music and visual captions. Guardians also scored as high as 22nd in percussion.

The Battalion’s 2023 appearance marked its second ever at the DCI World Championships, and the Utah corps improved upon its 27th-place 2022 finish. The Battalion corps outscored Guardians by a strong margin in general effect, and both corps scored just outside the Semifinalist cut-off line.

“It was just thrilling getting to be back here again after last year,” The Battalion drum major Reece Davis said. “For so many kids, this was their first time getting to perform in this venue. It’s just such a dream come true.”

 

28. River City Rhythm » 71.175
29. 7th Regiment » 70.075
30. Colt Cadets » 68.550
31. Raiders » 67.175
32. Les Stentors » 65.500

River City Rhythm utilized substantial leads in the general effect and music captions to keep its lead over 7th Regiment, outscoring the Connecticut corps by just over a point.

Being able to perform in such an important venue like Lucas Oil Stadium is one reason why River City Rhythm drum major Anders Peterson loves participating in the activity.

“I’ve been here with River City Rhythm for five years and this is one of the big reasons why I come back,” Peterson said. “It’s so fun to perform in front of all these people and in this stadium. It’s a part of the legacy of drum corps.”

7th Regiment outscored River City Rhythm in the visual captions, and broke 70 points at the Indianapolis event for the first time since 2019.

Colt Cadets maintained an advantage of 1.375 points over Raiders after outscoring the New Jersey corps by a comparable margin at Monday and Tuesday’s Open Class World Championship events. Other than visual proficiency, the Dubuque, Iowa corps held a lead in most scoring captions, and ranked 25th in color guard.

Both corps scored ahead of 7th Regiment in brass, and Colt Cadets improved on the corps’ 2022 Prelims score by 3.325 points.

“It was fantastic, especially for the first time being in a boomy stadium,” Colt Cadets drum major Mason Stokes said. “We were very locked in with each other and the run [was] pulled off very smoothly.”

Participating in the DCI World Championships from across the border in Quebec, Les Stentors concluded the corps’ season in 32nd place. The Canadian corps outscored Raiders in music analysis.

The top-25 corps from Thursday’s Prelims will advance to the DCI World Championship Semifinals, Friday, August 11 kicking off at 1 p.m. ET.

View the DCI World Championship Semifinals schedule

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