A total of 18 marching bands from the area gathered in George Gattus stadium to compete their shows. Elgin High School won the 1A division, Wheeling High School won the 2A division and Lake Park High School won the 3A title.

For the Prospect Marching Knights, however, this was a relaxing day. The band did not compete, performing an exhibition show at the end of the night instead.

The event was run solely by the parents involved in the boosters, giving the band a break after their win at the Chicagoland Marching Band Festival at Wheeling High School on Sept. 23.

Senior trumpet player Molly Moloney says that this is a relaxing point in their season and a welcome change in their normal competition season routine.

Despite a three and a half hour practice that morning, PMK was able to relax, with their only requirement being a sectional practice and section pictures that day. The rest of the day was devoted to watching bands.

“It’s nice not to be in charge of anything. We don’t have assigned jobs because the parents are running it. It’s nice to just relax and watch bands.”

This competition comes in the middle of the season for PMK, giving them an opportunity to prepare for some of their bigger, more difficult competitions in the coming weeks as well as to look at their previous performances.

“This is a point to evaluate how we’ve done so far,” Moloney said.

The group is looking toward the Illinois Marching Band Festival, the Bands of America Super Regional in St. Louis Mo. and the Illinois State University Marching Champions in the next month.

“It’s going to get stressful,” Moloney said.