The Pride of Tanque Verde made an outstanding showing at the first-ever Arizona Marching Band Association (AMBA) Southern Region Championships, held Saturday at Ironwood Ridge High School. Competing in the 2A division, our band earned an impressive 3rd place finish with a score of 73.769 points — coming within just 0.06 points of Walden Grove, who placed 2nd.
Both Ironwood Ridge and Walden Grove are large, well-established music programs, making this achievement even more remarkable. As Director Matt and staff members Randi and [your name] noted, “A few years ago, it was hard to imagine competing in the same division as these programs — let alone contending so closely with them.” The Pride of Tanque Verde is currently ranked 4th in the state, a testament to the hard work, musicianship, and dedication of our students as they rose to a higher division and continued to perform at an elite level.
Color Guard Excellence
A special spotlight shines on our incredible color guard, who once again delivered a standout performance. The Pride’s guard earned the auxiliary caption for the 2A division and also achieved the highest guard score of any 2A school at any competition this past weekend.
Even more impressively, their score ranked 4th overall among all guards at the Southern Championships — ahead of every 3A school in Southern Arizona, two of the three 4A schools, and even one 5A program. The only guards to surpass them were Flowing Wells (4A), Casa Grande Union (5A champion), and Rincon/UHS (5A runner-up and overall guard leader).
This incredible achievement speaks volumes about the effort, artistry, and team spirit of Audree Jenshak, Merry Jones, Mally McCallum, Hailey Nonaka, and Theseus Underwood, under the leadership of captain Rosie Adair and coach Lily Shaw. It’s worth noting that this is only the second year of our revived color guard program — a truly inspiring success story!
Upcoming Performances
The Pride of Tanque Verde isn’t done yet! The band will take the field two more times this season:
U of A Band Day – Saturday, November 1st at Arizona Stadium
The Pride will perform as the final band in the 2A division, followed by a show from the Pride of Arizona and the 1A/2A Awards Ceremony. This is always a highlight of our season, and we’d love to see a loud and proud Hawk crowd cheering us on!
🎟️ Tickets available here: Band Day 2025 TicketsState Championships – Saturday, November 8th at Campo Verde High School
Come support the Pride as we finish our season strong!
Go Hawks!
We could not be prouder of the musicians, guard members, and staff who make the Pride of Tanque Verde such an exceptional program. Their dedication and passion continue to elevate our community and inspire everyone who hears them perform.