Second place all tied up after Open Class Semifinals

On Monday night in Michigan City, Oregon Crusaders (1st, 93.95) kept hold of the top spot of the Open Class Corps, with Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets making their move on Blue Devils B. "Oh my goodness," Oregon Crusaders drum major Happiness Yi said after their performance. "There aren't words that aren't cliche to say right now." Yi said the corps had an amazing performance, and has been on a quick, uphill climb all season. She hopes they can keep the momentum going into the few remaining days of the 2012 season. "We haven't peaked yet, which is really what we're driving for," Yi said. "We're almost there. With only five days left, it's just going to be a push to the end." Tying for second place were Blue Devils B (92.00) and Vanguard Cadets (92.00). "There's another level for us to achieve tomorrow that the kids are going to be going for," Vanguard Cadets director Steve Barnhill said. "We all think we can go one or two more notches higher in our performance. With first place within reason, I'm really excited to see what the corps can do." Blue Devils B drum major Eddie Pineda said he thought his corps' Semifinals performance went really, really well. "But as I expected, that was not our best show," he said. "We are definitely saving it for tomorrow." As far as competition with others corps — such as Oregon Crusaders or Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets — Pineda said corps members have been handling it with lots of class and sportsmanship. "To be honest, we're not caught up in the scores," he said. "We're just focusing on our gig and working hard. I'm sure the other corps are as well." Spartans (4th, 90.00) was the only other corps to break 90 points on Monday. 7th Regiment (5th, 86.20), Genesis (6th, 84.65) and Gold (7th, 83.85) followed. "I could really feel the energy from everybody on the field," Genesis drum major Jocelyn Flores said. "It was really great. I couldn't have asked for a better performance today." She said the corps' performance tomorrow is going to be better than Monday's, and she's excited to see how Finals goes Tuesday night at Ames Field. "It's completely different from any other field we've ever marched on," Gold drum major Isabel Garcia said about Ames Field. "It's a really nice facility. I really liked the energy and the vibe. It was a great experience. I can't even say in words how great it is right now. It's amazing." This was Gold's first appearance at the World Championships since 2007 in Pasadena, Calif. Garcia, having been with Gold for six years, was with the corps when they made their last Championship appearance. Legends (8th, 83.85) kept their lead on Music City (9th, 83.15), with Raiders (10th, 79.45) rounding out the top 10. Revolution (11th, 77.40) and Colt Cadets (12th, 73.20) were the last two corps to qualify for the Finals competition on Tuesday night. Les Stentors (13th, 63.90) and Blue Saints (14th, 60.90) will perform in exhibition. Les Stentors snare drummer Max Cousinean said it felt amazing to perform and to see how all his hard work paid off. In his first year with the corps, Cousinean comes from a drum corps family. "It's really special because [my mom] used to tell me about the drum corps activity, and I really didn't understand anything," he said. "And then I started doing it, and then I understood why she loved doing it." Blue Saints drum major Meagan Innes said in the corps' 60th anniversary — their diamond anniversary — they're performing the field show "Diamond in the Rough." "I think it was a great show today," she said. "I think, generally speaking, as a culmination of our season it was a great representation of what we've achieved this season and what we've come together to do as an organization. I think it really represents our 60th anniversary season well." View all scores from this event. View a complete schedule of World Championship events. Contributing to this report: Jeff Langan, Christina Mavroudis, Jessica Skogh, Chris Weber