Both the Oakdale Junior High and High School colorguards were in action recently and came away with top honors.

“Both groups compete in the Central Valley Guard and Percussion Association,” said advisor Danesa Menge.

They both performed at Johansen High School on Saturday.

The junior high competed in the Junior High Round Two against Ustach Middle School, Hoover Middle School, and Los Banos Junior High.

“The junior high program is called ‘Beyond the Screen’. Two Kids. One game. What starts as playing Minecraft quickly pulls them into a world of blocks, adventure, and endless imagination,” Menge said.

The screen glows brighter, reality fades, and suddenly – they’re inside the game. Just as they’re completely lost, a voice breaks through – the screen goes dark, and they’re reminded there’s a world beyond the pixels.

“The junior high took first,” Menge said of the most recent competition.

For the high school team, they competed in the Scholastic Regional AA class. They took second. Central Valley High School took first, and Cesar Chavez High School took third.

“Their program is entitled ‘Driven’. It represents pure adrenaline,” Menge explained. “The start of the race, the chaos, the hard work, the crashes, and the comebacks. We may fall, but we dance out and push forward together. Only one may cross the finish line, but passion is the true victory.”

The rest of the season includes a competition at Enochs High School on March 14.

“Our ‘Friends and Family Show’ is March 24,” noted Menge.

Solo/small group competition is set for March 27 with the championships scheduled March 28 at Enochs.