The winter guard will travel to Dayton, OH on April 10 to compete in the Winter Guard International (WGI) Color Guard Championship. According to sponsor Rosie Queen, the guard will compete in the preliminary competition on Thursday, the semifinal on Friday and the final on Saturday. For more information on the event’s schedule, visit

“The ladies are doing an excellent job and are working really hard to perfect our show. It is very physically challenging,” Queen said. “They are performing as professional athletes and dancers.”

According to Makenna Cook, guard member and sophomore, the guard has been preparing with a rigorous rehearsal schedule.

“We do this thing called ‘obnoxious,’ which is when we do small chunks of our show five times in a row. It lasts about 40 minutes and is the most tiring thing ever,” she said. “After obnoxious we do something called ‘cleaning,’ which is when we spin our equipment to get everything perfectly together with everyone.”

Cook said she is excited to perform and compete because this year’s show concept is different from that of previous years.

“We usually have happy shows, but this year, it’s a lot darker. Last year, our show was super smiley, and this year, we are extremely fierce,” she said.

While Cook said she is a little nervous, she said she feels that the guard is up to the challenge.

“Nothing is holding us back this year,” she said.