All six Mount Pleasant ISD Winter Guard teams competed the Four States Performing Arts Association contest on Saturday, February 7, hosted at Mount Pleasant High School. Mount Pleasant ISD has a Winter Guard team at Wallace Middle School, two at Mount Pleasant Junior High, and three at Mount Pleasant High School, including the Varsity, Gold, and Onyx teams.

In their first competition of the season, the Junior Guard from Mount Pleasant Junior High blew the judges away, placing 1st in the Cadet division, more than 14 points ahead of 2nd place. The 2nd place team was none other than the JV Junior Guard, also from Mount Pleasant Junior High, who placed ahead of the 3rd place team by almost 5 points. Also competing for the first time in the Cadet division, Wallace Middle School, the youngest team in the competition, placed 5th out of 8 teams. The Junior Guard show is based on the animated movie, Coraline, with the Junior Guard JV show based on the 2025 movie from Netflix, KPop Demon Hunters. The Wallace Middle School show is based on the classic book and movie series, Harry Potter.

Mount Pleasant High School Gold placed 1st in their round in the Regional A classification. And Mount Pleasant High School Onyx placed 2nd in their round of the Regional A classification, their first time to compete in that division after being moved up from Novice.

Finally, the Mount Pleasant High School Varsity placed 2nd in the Scholastic A classification, just .18 behind 2nd place.

The MPISD Winter Guards will compete and host the next Four States Performing Arts Association contest on Saturday, February 21 in Willie Williams Gym at MPHS. This contest features 32 teams including all six MPISD Winter Guards. The High School Guards are under the direction of Marty Newman, the Junior Guards are directed by Peyton McClendon, and the Wallace Middle School Winter Guard is under the direction of Gracie McClendon.

Pictured:

All photos courtesy of Dark Hearts Media

1. Varsity: Ana Lucio performs in the Varsity show, based on the TV series, Game of Thrones. Their throne prop was designed and built by MPHS Engineering and Ag Mechanics students.

2. MPHS Onyx: Flower Moreno in the MPHS Onyx show based on Tinkerbell

3. MPHS Gold: Jayanna Townlin-Crow with MPHS Gold in their show based on the Netflix series, Wednesday

4. MPJH Junior Guard: Jacqueline Garcia and Emi Hobbs portray Coraline and The Other Mother in the MPJH Junior Guard show, Coraline

5. MPJH Junior Guard JV: The JV Junior Guard from Mount Pleasant Junior High

6. Wallace: Hadassah Thompson in the Wallace Middle School show based on Harry Potter