A lone white figure sits at a white piano, on a white floor. A voice over begins, and the guard enters the floor clothed in white, and then silence.

For their first year of being in the world class, the color guard’s theme is Anarchy of Silence, inspired by John Cage’s composition ‘4;33’, a piece consisting of only silence. They perform with little sound and color, making this known as the theme everyone was too scared to try.

The world guard won first in their class in every Texas competition they participated in, this year, making it their second undefeated season. On top of this, they also won in their class in Southwestern Color Guard Championship in Denton, making this their fourth year winning first.

“All of the hard work and blood and sweat was most definitely worth it,” junior Jessica Stachew said. “We achieved what no other Texas team has before, and we had the most amazing experience along the way.”

The guard practiced together almost everyday after school and during weekends. They also participated in WGI competitions almost every weekend to prepare for World Championships.

“At the beginning, I really just wanted to make world class finals,” junior Mariana Medina said.-“But as the season progressed, and the director’s expectations got higher, mine followed and by the end of it I just wanted to be in top five.”

The guard took about a day and a half to travel from Austin to Dayton, Ohio, by bus to get to World Championships.

“Traveling to Dayton is always a great experience for the team,” Stachew said. “It allows us to have that last moment to bond with each other before we have our last runs together.

The preliminary round was the Thursday after they arrived in Dayton. The guard knew that they had an amazing run, but never imagined that they would place the way they did. The guard ended up winning fifth in prelims with a score of 89.7003

“Winning fifth made everyone want to fight harder for semi-finals,” Stachew said. “We were amazed that we were ranked in the top five and it gave us a fire for semis and for finals.”

In semi finals, the guard exceeded their expectations by far, and made it out with a score of 93.700 in third place. They also received a 99 in the General Effect category, tying with the renowned world guard Tarpon Springs.

“I don’t think any of us thought semis was better than our prelims run, but when Powell pulled us outside in the freezing weather and into an alley way, we all knew something was weird,” sophomore Shannon Ross said. “Then they told us the placement and I’m pretty sure all of us peed a little.”

This is not only the highest the guard has ever placed in WGI Internationals, but it is also the highest a Texan world guard had ever placed in the competition.

“When we got third in semi finals I was shocked,” Stachew said. “At the point in time we were the third best color guard in the world, and it was amazing. Knowing that there are only two teams in this whole nation that we haven’t beat before is crazy.”

The group also had the chance to meet many other guards from around the world, such as the Pride of the Netherlands from Huizan, The Netherlands. The two guards were able to preview their shows for each other.

“Talking to independent and international guards made me realize that it’s amazing to think that color guard brought so many different people together that might not normally get to interact with one another and it makes the opportunity and the sport that much more special and memorable,” Medina said.

On Saturday, April, 9, the guard had one last chance at finals to make history, and one last chance to impress both the judges and the WGI community with their show.

“I can remember times where I didn’t have energy or I was so bruised that it hurt to do anything but I kept pushing,” Ross said. “After running off the floor in Dayton, crying, those are the kind of moment that we work so hard for.”

After they performed there was a long period of dead time while waiting for retreat, when placement would be announced. In this time, the guard was able to watch and talk to independent world guards, guards that are mostly made up of more experienced adult members.

“My favorite show from WGI this year was Black Gold’s show ‘Bullero’,” Stachew said. “It was about bulls and a matador and it was simply amazing. Their group is from Texas as well and we support each other at local competitions all the time. When we watched them I just felt a small connection and it made the show all the more enjoyable.”

After waiting, guard was finally able to hear what they had been waiting for all season. In their first year of being a world guard, James Bowie had beat all odds and came out with a score of 92.650, putting them in fifth place out of the 15 other guards that had advanced to finals.

“Hearing them announce ‘In fifth place, James Bowie from Austin, Texas’ is something that I’ll never forget,” Ross said.

Bowie is the first world guard from Texas to ever make the top-five in the World Championships.

“I exceeded my expectations by far,” Ross said. “The first goal was to make finals. Not only did we make finals or top ten, we made it all the way to the top five in the nation. All of the hard work and blood and sweat was most definitely worth it. We were amazed that we were ranked in the top five. The first goal was to make finals. Not only did we make finals or top ten, we made it all the way to the top-three in the nation.