L-W North Marching Band Finishes 2nd in Season's 1st Competition

By Ann Piasecki, Frankfort-New Lenox Patch Editor

The Lincoln-Way North Marching Phoenix started out the 2013 competitive season with an overall 2nd place finish at the Lake Park Lancer Joust in Roselle.

The 101-member strong Marching Phoenix competed against 22 high school bands Sept. 14 at Lake Park High School in Roselle. The Marching Phoenix finished first place in the class AA preliminary contest and second place in the Finals competition.

The band was one of 10 finalists to perform, according to a press release.

In the preliminary contest for class AA, Lincoln-Way North earned first place, with Wheeling earning a second place, and Naperville North placing third.

For the Finals competition with only 10 bands from all categories, the Marching Phoenix earned a second place with 70.65 points.

In addition, the Marching Phoenix took home caption awards for outstanding visual performance, outstanding effect and outstanding color guard.

"I'm very proud of the exceptional dedication and work these students have put into this season and this show," said Kirk Hickman, Phoenix director of bands.

The 2013 competitive show is titled It's Good to Be Gold with music selections from "Fields of Gold" by Sting and Gates of Gold by Joseph Curiale.

"We've been given a tremendous product to work on, and these kids continue to work hard to impress," Hickman added.

Next week, the band will compete at the Bands of America Regional contest in Kettering, Ohio.