SAN ANTONIO — While College Station High School Marching Band won't be advancing to the UIL state championship finals Tuesday, band members didn't hesitate to leave everything they had out on the field for their chance to show the state what they're made of.
CSHS performed their piece, called "Emotions of the Heart." Due to UIL competition rules, we're not allowed to show a lot of video from their piece.
"It was truly amazing. You could see every single person's like emotions, you know, portrayed purely through the music, and it's just incredible," said Holli Kolby, who is a senior drum major.
After the COVID-19 pandemic knocked out any chance of competition last season and a five hour rain delay during their regional competition, it was hard for the Cougars to see their path to the Alamodome.
"We were all in the parking lot," said Skylar Ford, a senior drum major. "We'd all changed out of our uniforms and our director just came over. I don't remember the exact words he said but he was like, 'sometimes things don't go your way but sometimes you are going to state'."
What started with 250 bands, turned to 33 and then whittled down to just 13 competitors at the state level. It's the first time in College Station ISD history that two of its bands have made it to the state competition.
College Station High School Marching Band competes at UIL state championship
"We just think of that last performance at area and just all that anger that we had to perform in the rain with the wind and the thunder and everything and that's a five hour delay," said Kylie Sink. Sink is a senior captain with the CSHS color guard. "We just pour it onto the field like it's our last time to ever perform."
Ford said just thinking about being a part of that kind of history is something she won't let go of.
"I'll remember it for the rest of my life," she said.