Coming off a gold medal performance Nov. 2 in the Maine High School Marching Band finals, the Westbrook High School Marching Band placed 13th out of 19 bands in the U.S. Bands National Championship Nov. 9, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

The event featured almost 8,000 band members and another 30,000 spectators.

“We were very pleased to be able to perform with so many great marching bands from around the country,” Kyle Smith, band director, said on Wednesday. “Many of the bands were from schools much bigger than ours.”

Smith added that this year was a phenomenal season for the Westbrook High School Marching Band.

“We achieved all of our goals, and we built a true team where all 61 students were working toward one common goal,” he said. “We had a group of 11 student leaders who showed great leadership as section leaders and drum majors. We battled through heat, cold, wind, and rain to create a memorable season that all students and staff are very proud of.”

At the state finals, Westbrook was the only band to earn the highest possible score of five stars in each category.

– Andrew Rice

Senior Madison Drew performs Nov. 2 with the Westbrook High School marching band color guard. The wrong band photo was published in error last week on page 1 of the American Journal.