The Dartmouth High band and color guard closed its season with a first-place win at a national competition in New Jersey.

Dartmouth took first place against 10 other schools in its division at the November 12 USBands National Championships, earning 97.063 out of 100 points. The second and third place finishers – Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School (Pennsylvania) and Passaic High School (New Jersey) – finished within one point of Dartmouth, said Director of Music Bill Kingsland.

Students also had to contend with the cold at MetLife Stadium. Outside the stadium where band members practiced, temperatures had fallen below 40 degrees, but it was warmer inside, said Kingsland.

“The kids did a good job at reacting to the cold,” Kingsland said. “If it gets below 40 degrees it starts affecting the pitch of the instruments. The instruments just don’t respond well in the cold.”

He added that the cold also makes it more difficult for performers to move their fingers and hold on to drum sticks.

Alongside taking first place overall, Dartmouth took home two of five performance awards: Best Music and Best Percussion.

The win closes a successful season for the band, said Kingsland. Leading up to nationals, it took first place against 13 other schools in the regional competition on regional competition on November 4.

With the marching band season coming to a close, Kingsland is already looking forward to next year. While the band will lose a few seniors due to graduation, he expects his juniors – the grade level with the most members – to step up and keep the band’s success going.