Photo Provided The St. Clairsville Marching Band competes in the Music for All’s Bands of America Grand National Championships on Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The St. Clairsville Marching Band competed in the Music for All’s Bands of America Grand National Championships on Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, placing 63rd out of 92 high school marching bands from across the United States.

The Red Devils marching band competed with bands that had up to 500 members.

For competitions, bands are categorized by their size. With only 62 members, the St. Clairsville Marching Band falls into Ohio’s Class B, which does not exist in the Grand National Championships.

The Red Devils marching band competed with larger bands in Class A and placed 10th in that category.

Band Director Justin Schwertfeger said this is the highest ranking the band has ever received.

“It was an incredible experience for the kids,” Schwertfeger said.

He noted that performing at Lucas Oil Stadium will be an experience the students will never forget.

“That’s where the Colts play. It was neat to perform at an NFL stadium. The atmosphere was top-notch,” he said.

Schwertfeger also said the band enjoyed watching the other bands compete and learning from their performances during the three-day competition.

Schwertfeger added that the band competed in the Grand National Championships for the first time two years ago.

“We have a little bit more experience now,” he said.

Schwertfeger said he wanted to thank everyone who supported the marching band and its members on the road to the nationals, including the school administration, the board of education and parents. He said parents have been working hard to raise money for the charter bus and competition registration fees. He also said parents helped build and haul props for the performances.

Schwertfeger stressed that the community has shown a lot of support. He said the American Legion and businesses such as Panhandle Cleaning and Restoration and Chick-fil-A have “stepped up” to support the band.

The band also recently earned a superior rating at the Ohio Music Education Association State Finals on Nov. 4. This is the band’s third year in a row receiving a superior rating. The competition was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, but the band also earned a superior rating in 2018 and 2019.

This year’s performance theme was “Just My Imagination.” The members of this year’s band wore brightly colored uniforms and used giant crayons as props to tell the story of an imaginative young girl with a magic crayon.

Schwertfeger said the students have worked hard. He said many members excel in academics and participate in other extracurricular activities such as choir, theater, sports and leading clubs and other organizations in addition to being in the marching band.

Schwertfeger has been the band director for 13 years at St. Clairsville High School. Becca Schwertfeger serves as the color guard coordinator for the band.

For more information about the St. Clairsville Marching Band, visit its Facebook or Instagram pages or email justin.schwertfeger@stcschools.com.