First Title in 30 Years Goes to CHS: Cody Band Takes 3A Title

Written By: Kyler Stinson, Staff Writer

The Cody High School Marching Band played, marched, and choreographed their way to a 3A State Championship on October 17th at the event center in Casper. This marks “the first time in over 30 years” (Wyoming Music Educators Association, 2025) that the award has been up for grabs. Although to Mr. French (Band Conductor), “it’s been a competition all along.” This State Champion caliber band was marked by a ‘super strong group of freshmen,’ a group of ‘really good leaders,’ ‘very intensive,’ practices and commitment to the sport, and ‘a very close team atmosphere.’

Photo Courtesy of Wade French

Winning State has meant a lot to this group of students. Jackson Amick (First Trumpet) stated, “winning state is the largest recognition I have ever had.” The title was special, but the work behind the scenes is what sets them apart. A majority of the band members have a daily class. On top of this daily class, the band has an additional practice from 6:30 to 9:30 twice a week in preparation for the State competition. This undermines the off-season work, which Mr. French described as “very intensive.” This outside-of-competition work consists of summer parades, daily class practice throughout the rest of the year, and two-day sessions the week before school starts. Logan Rigby thought back on the win, remarking, “we worked so hard, and it paid off,” Jackson Amick added, “the effort we put in shows how much we are committed, and it shows with a State Championship.”

When asked to highlight something that ultimately led to a State title, Mr. French stated that this group had “fantastic leaders,” and that their success “came down to leadership.” This student leadership is different from what you see in most athletics, as Tommy Butz (Band Captain, Tenor Saxophone) said, “we make a lot of the decisions, French just oversees them.” This power in decision-making was not taken lightly by the leaders, as they spent time over the summer committing to a leadership camp in Laramie (Marisa Rindal, Color Guard Captain). Logan Rigby (Alto Saxophone, Band Section Leader) added that “we as leaders spent a lot of time outside of practice getting people together to get extra practice in.” Most of the Band has a daily class where they practice, but the Color Guard does not, as Marisa Rindal highlighted, “all Color Guard is out of class,” meaning all of their work had to be done out of class and also in a group setting. This was no problem for them, as Zachary Satterthwaite (Assistant Drum Major) emphasised, "choreography set us apart.”
Leadership was a predominant factor in this year's band State Championship, but the freshman group also stood out. Beatrice Sandvik (Head Drum Major) made clear, “our freshmen are really good this year,” and Nathan Hollingshead (Tuba) added, “the freshmen were phenomenal.” This is to contrast the usual alternative freshmen team in other sports, such as basketball, volleyball, and football. Marching band is different in this way, as Mr. French put it: “everyone is on the field,” all 64 of them, which gives freshmen the ability to influence a team's success. 

From the freshmen to the older leaders, “everybody does something,” Logan Rigby said. This gives a unique range of people on a team, but this did not create division; rather, unity, as Logan Rigby stated, “we are not just an activity, we are a family,” and a successful one at that, being crowned 3A State Champions “for the first time in over 30 years.” (Wyoming Music Educators Association, 2025) The community trend was consistent among the interviewees, as Marisa Rindal (Color Guard Captain) reflectively noted when asked to summarize this year's group in one word: “we are a community,” and continued with “our team is very close.” 

Thanks to a strong community, outstanding leadership, talented freshmen, and a strong determination to succeed. The Cody High Band can now hang a State Champions banner, marking the start of what could be a dominant future. The marching band does not award All-State and All-Conference status based on team performance, but rather on solo tryouts. Cody was well represented on December first when the results came out, with 13 of Cody’s band participants earning All-State, the “most All-State band kids ever to be selected from Cody High School,” according to Mr. French. The All-State list consisted of Dean Werbelow (Percussion, second year), Bryson Laing (Trumpet, second year), Marcus Schoessler (Percussion, second year), Eliza DuRee (Flute, second year), Zachary Satterthwaite (Tenor Saxophone, second year), Ember Beasley (Flute), Vivian Kirby (Alto Saxophone), Tommy Butz (Tenor Saxophone), Maisie Fry (Alto Saxophone), Ethan Waters (Clarinet), Josh Rice (Tenor Saxophone), Beatrice Sandvik (Oboe), and Lena Hennings (Clarinet). Congratulations to all the Cody High School Marching Band and All-State honors winners.