As the final notes of their show for the Winter Guard championship echoed inside the Bren Events Center at UC Irvine, the Color Guard stood surrounded by a sea of gold flags, costumes, and backdrops, having brought their “Midas Touch” theme to life, April 18. At the championship, Westview competed in the Scholastic A division against 30 teams from California. After tying for 14th place with Canyon Springs High School for prelims on Saturday, April 18, the team qualified as one of the top 15 teams and advanced to finals on Sunday, April 19, ultimately finishing 15th overall.
Preparation for this championship began at the beginning of the Winter Guard season in January. Their show included visual changes like unfolding a gold floor and transitioning purple costumes to vibrant gold ones mid-performance.
Athena Pasag (11) said the results reflected their hard work throughout the season, especially with a relatively small team.
“Everyone else in our division is around 30 people and we’re only 13,” Pasag said. “So for us to look good—because it’s easier to see mistakes since we are a smaller team—we have to do harder skills. I’m really proud of my team.”
Pasag said there were obstacles that the team had to overcome in preparation for their performance.
“Sometimes we have to practice in the band room, and we can’t toss as high in there because the ceiling is lower than in the gym,” Pasag said. “We also have to practice outside, [where] there are things like wind and rain. Because we don’t have a lot of gym time, we don’t have as much experience with things like lights or tossing with the right rotation, but the fact that we’re at our level just shows that hard work that we put in.”
Captain Danielle Sheehan said that the team’s mindset going into prelims wasn’t just about the medals, but also about being able to make it to finals so they could perform one more time.
“Heading into the championship, we were a little bit anxious because we all really wanted to be able to perform on Sunday,” Sheehan said. “No one was stressed about getting all these medals, more so [focused on] not letting ourselves get in our own way and getting in the right mental space. It really is a testament to how good we are and how hard we worked to be able to perform one last time. We all had a really good run, and we had a lot of fun doing it as well. I was proud of that.”
Sheehan said the skills in the performance were the perfect level of challenging for the team.
“Our coaches would never put something in the show that they don’t think we can achieve,” Sheehan said. “We definitely have some difficult skills, but everything is still doable. It’s a good balance because it pushes us, but it’s also achievable for everyone.”
Looking back on the season and her time with the team, Sheehan said she realized how special the team was to her.
“At some point in the season my coach said, ‘There’s a reason why you’re performing and working with this specific group of people,’” Sheehan said. “That really stuck with me. I think that really resonated with me because this team has consistently shown me the best version of themselves. I hope that they continue to show that, not just to the audience but also to themselves.”
