Saturday, Nov. 15 marked the Marching Pride of Lawrence Township’s last performance for the season as they performed for the national competition, finishing in 12th place against 11 other bands. Senior Megan Ellsworth is one of the four drum majors that performed at nationals. Here is what she had to say about their last performance and the season ending:

North Star: What was your initial reaction when you found out that you got 12th place?

Ellsworth: “More of the reaction came when we found out we actually got into finals. Out of the nation, there’s like 500 [bands] that were involved, but there were 94 actually at grand nationals and we moved into semi-state, which were 24 bands, and then we found out we moved on to finals, which is only 12 bands. So, yeah, we were pretty excited. It was just the drum majors on the field, the band was back at school, and the reaction in the band room, I’ve heard it was really crazy.”

NS: Was 12th place something you expected, or did you expect to do better?

Ellsworth: “Honestly, our goal was to get to finals and once we got there it didn’t matter after that what we placed.”

NS: What was the rest of the band’s reaction back at the school?

Ellsworth: “There’s a video on Instagram or something, and they all were screaming, it was pretty exciting.”

NS: How do you feel about the season being over?

Ellsworth: “I’m really sad. I don’t know what to do with my time now, but it was a really good experience and I already miss it alot, and it’s only been a few days.”

NS: Over the season, was there anything that the band improved upon?

Ellsworth: “Yeah, the directors are really good about being able to kind of knit pick things and fix all the little details that make all the difference. We have improved so much from the very beginning, like if we look at the band camp video to the finals, its a big difference.”

NS: What is your favorite memory from this season?

Ellsworth: “Probably this past weekend and the awards ceremony was really cool and the finals. The whole band got a medal and just getting to go through it all with a big group of people was really cool.”

NS: What was it like being at the finals? What did you feel?

Ellsworth: “It’s really exciting, because you know that’s your last performance, so it was also really emotional for us all. And the stands were crowded at [the stadium], it was a lot of people.”

NS: Was there any bands you worried about going up against?

Ellsworth: “Well, Avon and Carmel are really competitive. They had a lot of resources for props that we just don’t have, but now we have the numbers because [LN and LC] combined, so now our band’s big enough to be competitive with them. That was a big thing, going into this year being able to actually stand a chance.”