WELLS — On New Year’s Day 2018, Wells High School senior Samantha Chase found herself in what must have been a surreal, yet certainly memorable place and time, performing as a color guard before thousands in the All American Halftime Show™ in the Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

This show is composed of a large band, color guards, dancers and cheerleaders from other parts of the country.

“It was incredible. I’ve never performed before for such a big crowd,” said Chase who auditioned to be a color guard for this annual college football event. “And it was such an adrenaline rush that by the time it was over, I was almost sad. I just wanted to repeat it all over again.”

Chase was encouraged to audition for this show by her color guard coach of almost six years since junior high days, Bailey Smith who said that Chase was the only color guard from Maine.

“I was pretty much the only one from the northeast,” said Chase. “A lot of the girls were from Texas or the southern states.”

“I just am really proud of her,” said Smith. “She is the first Wells student to get accepted into this program. I couldn’t have chosen anyone better to represent us.” Smith says that next year she is definitely going to pick another of her color guard students to audition for the half time show at the Citrus Bowl.

Along with attending the big game, Samantha Chase was able to get in some sightseeing and visits to Disney World® and Universal Orlando Resort™ with her parents who accompanied her to Florida as chaperones.

This year’s Citrus Bowl featured Notre Dame (21) versus LSU (17). The game drew more than 57,700 spectators.

On Thanksgiving, three other WHS color guard members, Annabelle Breton, Mallory Cashman, and Lilly Hendry, marched in the 2017 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as members of Macy’s Great American Marching Band.

This was the fourth year that members of the WHS Color Guard team have performed in the Macy’s parade.