After competing amongst 50 other guards from throughout the nation at the Texas Color Guard Circuit (TCGC) championships, Bowie’s color guard made it past preliminaries and finals earning the prestigious title as international champions.

 
“Our motivation from our directors is what got us there. They pushed us really hard to catch our stuff persistently and constantly,” senior Alex Matthews said. “They’re always striving to make us better.”
The team worked countless hours to perfect their two shows, “Noche de Lluvia” and “Bowie’s Regional Spelling Bee.” They practiced twice in the week for three hours and five hours on the weekends.
“Many times, the long practices and uncomfortable costumes make the program seem as if it’s not worth our time, but once we step out onto the floor and see the hundreds of people who have gathered to watch our passion unfold it all makes sense,” junior Laurie Bengoa said.

 
Bengoa believes color guard is more than just flags and rifles; it’s a whole art form of its own.
“We are able to combine many fine arts into one show where we take on a persona and act, cheer, dance, and spin equipment all while maintaining technique,” Bengoa said.

 
But this art form goes even deeper; it creates bonds stronger than friendship.
“There are no boys in our guard so we always thought of each other as sisters. We always help each other out, and we always share each other’s stuff and have each other’s back,” Matthews said.
Together these ‘sisters’ cherish the countless memories they have made through their color guard experiences this year. Their favorite is from a performance at Westlake.

 
“We were performing part two and all of a sudden when we go put our stuff away it started pouring down rain and then when we grabbed our rifles and stuff it was so slippery and so hard to see cause of the rain that was falling down and we all started laughing and it was so much fun and we just looked at each other and laughed,” Matthews said. “Just seeing everybody have such a great time performing made it even more special cause then at the end we won first place and it was pretty awesome.”
This past year has taken the team through all sorts of struggles and challenges but left these champions with so much more than just a title.

 
“By the end of the season, not only do we go home with medals around our neck but with a renewed sense of pride and accomplishment in that we have achieved a wonderful season with new skills and new friends,” Bengoa said.