SAN ANTONIO — Boom.
Boston Crusaders made a major statement at the first meeting of all 20 World Class corps on the 2025 DCI Summer Tour, earning first place at the DCI Southwestern Championship presented by Fred J. Miller Inc. in record fashion.
The New England corps earned top scores in Visual Proficiency and all Music captions, and with a final tally of 93.213, set the new all-time high San Antonio score. Remarkably, 2025 is the third-consecutive year that the San Antonio record-high score has been rebroken.
“That was a lot of fun,” said Boston Crusaders drum major Wes Booker. “I liked the energy and the emotion. We’re just bringing our A-game and as much emotion as we can to each performance, and this one definitely showed up.”
View scores & recap from the 2025 DCI Southwestern Championship
1. Boston Crusaders » 93.213
2. Bluecoats » 92.825
3. Santa Clara Vanguard » 90.913
4. Blue Devils » 90.838
Bluecoats landed in second at Saturday’s event, after scoring ahead of Boston Crusaders by 0.15 points Thursday in Denton. The defending champions topped the charts in General Effect, Visual Analysis and Color Guard to remain less than half a point of the top spot.
“I thought tonight’s show went great; I thought everything came together,” said Bluecoats drum major Tony Gamez. “The dome is a special place and a special environment, and it holds dear to my heart since I’m a native Texan.”
Santa Clara Vanguard — which finished the 2024 season in sixth place — continued a strong start to the season with a third-place finish in San Antonio.
After several recent close head-to-head finishes, the corps scored ahead of Blue Devils for the first time since June 2019, earning a razor-thin advantage of 0.075 points and scoring as high as second in Percussion and Brass. Blue Devils, however, kept things close by finishing ahead of Vanguard in General Effect.
5. Phantom Regiment » 89.263
6. Carolina Crown » 88.788
7. Mandarins » 87.050
Phantom Regiment and Carolina Crown have been among the most closely-contested corps this summer, with each having outscored the other twice in their four most recent head-to-head meetings — by less than half a point in all of those instances.
Saturday, the edge for a spot in the top five went to Regiment by an expanded margin, thanks to its especially strong scores in the Visual captions, despite being outscored by Carolina Crown in Brass, Music Analysis, and Visual Proficiency. Phantom Regiment also took fourth in Color Guard.
According to drum major Bernardo Magallanes, Saturday’s performance marked a high point as the corps continues to work hard into the summer’s home stretch.
“Well, I cried during the ballad,” Magallanes said. “Throughout the season, you know, we worked on foot timing and music and drill and details, and that’s all great, but the past couple shows, I feel like it’s really hit close to home.”
Mandarins maintained a strong position, with its Saturday placement matching its ranking from the end of 2024. The corps landed in an impressive fifth place in color guard, and was just 0.05 points behind Carolina Crown in Brass.
8. Blue Stars » 85.250
9. The Cavaliers » 84.813
10. Troopers » 84.600
In the most recent meeting of Blue Stars, The Cavaliers, and Troopers — three corps who have spent ample time competing head-to-head this season — just over a point separated the group July 15 in Olathe, Kansas, with The Cavaliers coming out ahead.
Saturday, Blue Stars held a thin lead over the trio to maintain a spot in the event’s top eight, with just 0.65 points separating them. While the Rosemont, Illinois corps held stronger results in General Effect 1, Percussion and Music Analysis — and scored as high as seventh in Percussion — Blue Stars made the difference with a solid lead in Total Music, as well as Color Guard.
“Our run tonight was awesome; we really have had a lot of energy, and we came out here and showed the crowd what we’re about,” said Blue Stars drum major Mattie Kleespies. “ We’ve been pushing very hard toward this weekend.”
Troopers outscored Blue Stars and The Cavaliers in Total Music and Visual Proficiency to keep things close amongst the group of three.
11. Blue Knights » 82.963
12. Colts » 82.188
13. Madison Scouts » 80.738
14. Spirit of Atlanta » 79.075
15. Pacific Crest » 78.963
16. Crossmen » 78.113
Blue Knights — who placed 14th at the end of the 2024 season — earned 11th place Saturday, largely thanks to strong scores in General Effect. The Denver corps was outpaced by Colts in Total Visual, but scored as high as 10th in Brass and Percussion.
“I thought it was a really good run; it felt very solid,” said Blue Knights drum major Adisyn Livingston. “Performing the show is just so fun. Our closer is ‘Water’ by Tyla; you can’t not have fun with that.”
Colts earned the coveted 12th-place position at the Alamodome, outscoring Madison Scouts by 1.45 points. The Scouts ranked an impressive 11th in Color Guard, but Colts held decisive leads in Total Visual and Total Music to maintain an advantage.
For many corps, including the Colts, the Southwestern Championship serves as a key checkpoint, not just competitively, but creatively. It’s a chance to unveil updates, refine details, and test major changes in front of a sizable crowd.
“Today was a wonderful performance on all parts by the drum corps,” said Colts drum major Carissa Blumka. “It was really exciting to be premiering our new ending, especially today, and having the crowd applaud where the end used to be, and then getting that one last moment in, which was really an exciting touch.”
Bolstered by standout General Effect scores and a slim lead in Total Music, Spirit of Atlanta earned a slim advantage of 0.112 over Pacific Crest. The Southern California corps, though, outscored Spirit in Total Visual.
“I’m so grateful every time we perform, I just surround myself with the fact that I was given this opportunity,” said Spirit of Atlanta drum major Peyton Brillhart. “I take a second to be thankful for it, even though my heart rate is going 192 — or, if I want to be specific, 184 which is our closer tempo.”
Crossmen also remained in close contention with both Spirit of Atlanta and Pacific Crest, scoring just 0.85 points behind the latter. The San Antonio-based corps outscored both in Visual Analysis.
“We’ve been working really hard,” said Crossmen drum major Kaitlin Jennings. “We had DCI Houston last night, and this morning we had a two-hour rehearsal block. We really put in a lot of work to make this show better than it was yesterday.”
17. The Academy » 76.575
18. Music City » 76.375
19. Seattle Cascades » 73.900
20. Genesis » 72.800
Saturday marked the first head-to-head meeting of 2025 between The Academy and Music City. The two were separated by less than half a point in Music City’s favor at the end of last season. With captions split between the two, the Arizona corps held a thin lead of just 0.2 points.
“The show went fantastic,” said Academy drum major Sammy Rodriguez. “I really enjoyed the details we brought to the Alamodome, and I just appreciate the audience’s reaction. We’re intricate, and that’s what makes our show amazing.”
Seattle Cascades maintained an advantage over Genesis for the second time in three days; the two had been separated by one point Thursday in Waco, prior to Saturday’s slightly-larger margin of 1.1.
While Genesis scored ahead of Cascades in Brass and a handful of subcaptions, the Washington corps’ standout lead in General Effect made the majority of the difference.
“I think it was really good,” drum major Zoe Arambul said about Cascades’ Alamodome performance. “We made a lot of changes yesterday, so I think it was the best performance we’ve done yet.”
1. Gold » 72.550
2. Zephyrus » 67.325
Gold shined in its first-ever San Antonio appearance, leading the way in Open Class with a score of 72.550 and winning all captions. With upcoming performances in St. Louis and Evansville, Indiana, the southern California corps will compete with several other Open Class corps in the coming weeks.
“Today’s run was amazing,” said Gold drum major Charlie Ly. “This is our first time in San Antonio, and the crowd couldn’t be better. The performers performed their hearts out.”
Zephyrus, in its second-ever trip to San Antonio, made waves with a score of 67.325, concluding its first season as an Open Class corps on a high note.
“Competing in Open Class has been a game changer,” said Zephyrus drum major Ryan Black. “We work hard for this, we’re playing hard, and we enjoy the scores, but to me and to the staff, it’s really just about showing the world what we got and showing the world that Oklahoma is here to stay and that the Tulsa area is here to represent.”
Arsenal also made an appearance in San Antonio, performing in the SoundSport category, earning a gold rating.
The El Paso, Texas corps is in the first year of DCI’s Open Class approval process, with the potential to become a competing affiliate member in 2026. Saturday marked the corps’ fifth performance this season.
“Being able to be a part of something where we’re truly building and being able to see these kids — some of whom have never even played a brass instrument — perform in the Alamodome six weeks later is something so special,” said Arsenal drum major Alexandra Vanderwolf.
All of Saturday’s World Class corps will depart San Antonio for upcoming Lone Star State events. The DCI Texas Series presented by USBands concludes in Bedford (July 21) and McKinney (July 22).
