On Monday night at Plymouth High School in Plymouth, Indiana, Open Class corps Legends and Spartans performed in front of stands packed with awe-struck fans.
In just a week, those same spectators may very well be able to brag that they saw the Open Class gold and silver medalists. The division that has been led by the combination of Blue Devils B and Vanguard Cadets for a decade, was dealt a major shakeup when the two corps announced they would be embarking on shortened tours in 2019.
Spartans and Legends have taken full advantage of the wide-open field. The groups that finished fifth and fourth respectively at last season’s Open Class Finals have the highest and second-highest scores among all Open Class corps as of July 29.
“In the activity, it’s always going to be competitive,” Spartans’ drum major Matt Mackay said. “I’m sure that’s a driving factor. But in rehearsals, at shows, all they want to do is be better than the day before.”
Spartans were victorious Monday night in Plymouth with a score of 76.150 points, an advantage of nearly two full points over the second-place Legends.
In the grand scheme of the Open Class field, those were the two highest scores recorded yet this season. Among those chasing, though, is Gold, which after scoring 73.900 on Monday in Iowa, will meet Spartans Wednesday night in Farmington, Minnesota. Of all returning Open Class finalists, the Southern California corps owns the best 2018 finish, having earned bronze in Michigan City, Indiana last season.
Legends’ drum major Jack Murphy said that while the corps does use the allure of a medalist finish at the Open Class Finals as motivation, they try to keep it out of their psyche, instead choosing to focus on bettering themselves every day.
“Right now, our motivation is improving our own performance and striving to be the best that we can be personally for ourselves,” Murphy said. “I think that we are pushing to new levels, but I think that’s something that we’ve been doing all season, and I don’t think that’s because the season is almost over.”
Spartans are taking a similar mindset into the home stretch of the season.
“There’s just this halo around the corps right now. Everyone is getting along and you can tell we want it,” he said. “It’s absolutely incredible. Just the amount of talent that came through the doors in November, the amount of hard work they’ve put in, it’s absolutely astonishing.”
With a week to go before corps march into Marion, Indiana, the brand new location for 2019’s Open Class World Championship events, Spartans has already secured its highest score since 2014. When all is said and done, this summer has the potential to go down as one of the best seasons in corps history.
Mackay had to have seen this coming, right?
“Honestly not particularly,” he said. “I came into the season and I said, ‘I just want to be better than last year.’ All this has just opened up in front of us.”
There’s still a ways to go before any hardware gets passed out, and both Legends and Spartans are well aware of that. But they want to make the most of this season, take their productions to their fullest potential and leave Indiana satisfied with what they put on the field.
“For myself, just pushing our core to the limits, I think that’s probably an overall goal for everyone just pushing themselves personally to the limit,” Murphy said. “See how far they can go.”
Added Mackay: “We want to make this thing as great as it can be.”
