DAYTON, Ohio — After the first night of Drum Corps International’s World Championships Week, The Battalion is on the doorstep of history. But with just six-tenths of a point separating the top three corps, it’s still anybody’s game.
For the first time in DCI history, Welcome Stadium played host to the Open Class World Championship Prelims on Monday night. Featuring a 12-corps lineup, the historic debut ended with the Salt Lake City ensemble claiming the top spot on the leaderboard.
The Battalion — which has never won an Open Class championship, and earned its first Open Class bronze medal last season — ended up out in front, its lead over second-place Gold was just 0.4 points, with Blue Devils B not far behind.
“That was a wonderful experience,” The Battalion drum major Connor McDonald said. “Bringing it all together was just an awesome thing; I’ve seen this corps from the start to now and it’s been awesome.”
1. The Battalion » 80.800
2. Gold » 80.400
3. Blue Devils B » 80.200
The Battalion’s close lead was driven by a slim 0.25 advantage in General Effect. The Utah corps also earned first place in Brass and overall Music.
Gold, though, which landed in second, is well within striking distance of its first-ever Open Class title as well. The southern California corps, which has earned three silver medals in the last four years, topped the charts in Color Guard and overall Visual.
“Today in our pre-show warmup, there was a moment where we truly locked in as a family,” Gold drum major Bella Cottrell said. “It was really exciting for me to see everyone putting together something that they’re proud of, and that they’ve worked so hard toward.”
In its first competitive appearance since July 11 — and its first DCI World Championship appearance since 2024 — Blue Devils B rounded out the closely-contested top three, just two-tenths of a point behind second-place Gold. BDB earned first in Visual Analysis and Percussion, and also scored ahead of Gold in General Effect.
“I think we did everything that we needed to show that we’re here to not play around,” Blue Devils B drum major Sierra Lopez said. “We’re here to do our jobs, be the best selves that we can be, and really just show what we’re all about.”
4. Memphis Blues » 76.275
5. River City Rhythm » 75.750
6. Columbians » 74.775
In Memphis Blues’ first Open Class World Championship appearance — 2026 is the corps’ first year as a full Open Class member — the corps landed in an impressive fourth place, with 0.525 points of separation from fifth-place River City Rhythm.
Memphis Blues’ Visual scores were especially strong; the corps ranked third in Visual Proficiency.
“The performance felt great, the energy was really there, everybody was super hyped,” Memphis Blues drum major Caroline Storch said. “You could tell at the end that all the members were super into it and that the crowd also picked up on it, so the run felt amazing.”
River City Rhythm, though — which made history last season, earning its best-ever overall Open Class placement — kept things close by outscoring Memphis Blues in overall Music, while also posting an impressive third place in Brass.
“I feel like it was definitely different energy than we’ve brought before, you know, with it being Open Class Championships,” RCR drum major Abigail Alvarez said. “We worked so hard to get to this point.”
Taking sixth place, Columbians scored within a point of the top five, trailing River City Rhythm by 0.975 points. The Washington corps topped RCR in overall Visual, and its Brass caption ranked fourth.
7. Colt Cadets » 72.525
8. Raiders » 70.550
9. 7th Regiment » 70.200
After earning eighth place at the Open Class Finals in each of the last two seasons, Colt Cadets are in a position to earn the corps’ highest-ever placement after earning seventh Monday night. Colts Cadets’ Monday score, should it hold serve into Tuesday’s competition, would also be its highest Open Class Finals score in more than a decade.
According to Colt Cadets drum major Alayna Covarrubias, the corps’ energy was ever present in its Prelims performance.
“The vibes were so amazing,” Covarrubias said. “Everyone was so hyped up when we were coming into the stadium, and the audience was super interactive and yelling and cheering us on.“
Behind Colt Cadets, Raiders and 7th Regiment had one of the night’s most closely-contested battles, with the former earning an advantage of 0.35 points to take eighth place.
At the two corps’ most recent meeting — July 31 in Allendale, Michigan — Raiders outscored 7th Regiment by more than a point. The Connecticut corps made up ground thanks to a strong lead in the Music captions.
“I really loved the energy,” 7th Regiment drum major Braden Osteen said immediately after performing. “In rehearsal, we talked about the energy that we had and how to accomplish this in today’s performance and it was definitely outstanding on this field.”
10. Les Stentors » 68.050
11. Eclipse » 66.425
12. Heat Wave » 62.625
Making its annual return to the World Championships, Les Stentors represented as the lone Canadian ensemble — and northernmost competitor — in the field. The Quebec-based corps earned a 68.050, finding notable success in the visual captions where it topped Raiders in Visual Analysis and Color Guard.
Indianapolis-based Eclipse took a major step forward this season, making its official Open Class Prelims debut after previously performing as a SoundSport ensemble. Competing as a newly recognized Open Class affiliate, the corps earned an 11th-place finish and topped Les Stentors in overall Music.
Rounding out Monday’s Open Class lineup was Heat Wave, making its first appearance at the event since 2019. Posting a score of 62.625, the Tampa Bay ensemble has been on an exciting journey to its World Championship return since a July 24 season kickoff.
“I like the fact that we have such a late start because it gives us such motivation to constantly be improving,” Heat Wave drum major Harlie Piecewic said. “It really pushes all of the members to always be giving 100 percent.”
All 12 corps will return to Welcome Stadium for the DCI Open Class World Championship Finals on Tuesday, August 4, joined by the International Class corps Mercedes Marching Band from Costa Rica. The first corps steps off beginning at 6 p.m. ET, and the event can be streamed live via FloMarching.
View a day-by-day guide to 2026 DCI World Championship events
