INDIANAPOLIS — Prior to Thursday’s DCI World Championship Prelims presented by Band Today, The Battalion had already made its fair share of history in 2024.
The Utah corps’ 10th anniversary season has been full of memorable competitive moments, including an all-time high score and ranking at the DCI Open Class World Championships earlier in the week in Marion, Indiana.
“This season has been really invigorating for everyone here at The Battalion,” Battalion drum major Reece Davis said, Tuesday in Marion. “Being able to earn our all-time highest scoring record this season has really put morale through the roof, and it just pushed everyone closer to that last finish line.”
But The Battalion wasn’t done.
In its third trip to the DCI World Championships, the Salt Lake City corps reached new competitive heights, earning its first-ever spot in the DCI World Championship Semifinals, which features the summer’s Top 25 scorers.
The corps first ventured to Indianapolis in 2022, with a return trip last summer. Both seasons saw The Battalion land within two points of the Top 25 cutoff, but just short of clinching a Friday performance.
As such, Thursday’s result is one for the Utah corps’ history books.
“Today’s run was thrilling,” Davis said. “To have the energy of the corps come together with all the practice we’ve put in to clean the show is really gratifying. I couldn’t be more proud seeing that all come together.”
In order to earn its 25th-place ranking, The Battalion staved off Columbians by just 0.15 points, and owed the vast majority of that advantage to its scores in the music captions. While the Utah corps trailed Columbians in general effect and visual by a combined 0.35 points, The Battalion made up for it with a half-point advantage in music overall.
The Salt Lake City corps was especially strong in the brass and percussion captions, ranking 23rd in both.
With plenty of all-time bests in its back pocket, The Battalion will kick off the DCI World Championship Semifinals at 1:45 p.m. ET Friday.
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