Smoky Mountain News

White Knoll High School marching band from Lexington, S.C. was named grand champion at the 12th annual Tournament of Champions, an invitational competition held at Western Carolina University on Oct. 20.

Hickory Ridge High School of Harrisburg won the North Carolina Roll of Honour, which is awarded annually to the band from North Carolina with the highest score in finals competition.

The Tournament of Champions is an annual event hosted by WCU’s award-winning Pride of the Mountains Marching Band. Each year, more than 3,000 high school musicians from across the Southeast come to E.J. Whitmire Stadium on the WCU campus to compete. Twenty-one bands from four states took part in this year’s event.

Bands were evaluated by six expert judges from across the United States who consider how well each band plays, marches and entertains the audience, while additional adjudicators rank drum lines, drum majors and auxiliary units.