Pride of Olney seats 12 in District Band

Twelve members of the Olney High School Band were selected to participate in the Texas Music Educators Association Region 7 North Zone AAA-AAA District Band.

Tryouts were held Saturday, November 5 at Holliday High School.

Students selected to the band include sophomore Baylee Young – piccolo

(2nd chair), freshmen Arianna Esparza – flute (1st chair) and Jesus Mendoza – oboe (1st chair). Juniors Brandon Robertson – oboe (3rd chair) and Brynna Ogle – bassoon (1st chair) were also selected, as was senior Amber McCutcheon – 16th chair Bb clarinet.

Jenny Ford was named 1st chair bass clarinet, and Olivia Brandt, junior, was picked first chair contrabass clarinet.

Other POOHS selected for the honor band were sophomore Michael Liming – trombone (1st chair), junior Erik Cuba - (2nd chair), junior Hunter Simmons – 1st chair string bass, and sophomore Melanie Allen – 8th chair in the percussion section.

Alternates to the band include seniors Marisol Marquez, piccolo, Chris Sloan, oboe, and junior Tristen Belyeu, trumpet.

They were selected first alternate in their respective sections. Hayley Ondricek, junior, was named second alternate on trumpet.

Auditions were judged on performances of the ATSSB All-State Band music.

Judges included area band directors. Students selected for the All-District Band will attend a clinic and perform on Saturday, January 28, 2017 at Wichita Falls High School.

POOHS “Beat the Heat” Competition

Members of the POOHS Band, family, and friends gathered at Whataburger in Graham Nov. 1 to participate in a “Beat the Heat” event sponsored by the restaurant.

Games and activities were included in the event, led by DJ Chris. Prizes and promotional items were given away to attendees. Lila McCutcheon won the paddleball contest and Kiara Allen won the dance-off competition. Kiki won free food from Whataburger for a year for her prize-winning performance.

Vincent Guerra won second place in the male student paddleball competition. Students and adults also participated in a slingshot competition, that ended in a tie and shootout. Graham Band members won the shootout 2-1. Members of the POOHS team included Amber McCutcheon, Jesus Mendoza, Janielle Garcia, and Doug McCutcheon.

In the battle of the drumlines, three encores were performed after the initial cadences. Led by junior La’Anna Golden on quints, the POOHS drumline was truly outstanding. Both drumlines were declared champs.

The POOHS Pepper Poppers team of Paul Garcia, Chris Guerra, Doug McCutcheon and Rodney Bennett consumed 26 jalapeno peppers. Members of the RSB3 team consumed 24 peppers.

The contest was conducted as an individual winner event. One member of the RSB3 team consumed nine peppers and was declared the winner of the $500 prize.

In head-to-head competition, POOHS Band Director Rodney Bennett consumed six jalapenos while RSB3 Director of Bands Joshua Kidd ate four.

Prize money of $250 was awarded to the band with the most attendees at the event. Olney had 262 persons in attendance, while Graham had 194.