Diamond Bar High School’s Thundering Herd marched its way to success after placing first in the band division at the Placentia Band Review competition on Saturday and claiming second place in sweepstakes.

The color guard team also placed second and senior Rebecca Kimn placed third in Drum Major. The band performed “The Voice of the Guns” by Kenneth J. Alford.

Each school was judged in three separate divisions: Band, Auxiliary or Color Guard and Drum Major. Each category has its own scoring guidelines and is judged by specialized moderators. The sweepstakes winner is the band with the highest overall score.

DBHS earned a score of 94.30 in the Band division, 477.0 in the overall sweepstakes, 89.10 in the Auxiliary division and Kimn obtained a 92.00 in the Drum Major division.

“I felt relieved [when we placed second]. There were several issues with the performance and we all knew we messed up. Even though we didn’t have a perfect run, it’s still nice to know that we actually did well. The choreography is quite difficult, so that helped boost the score a little bit,” senior Color Guard captain Sarah Lam said via Facebook.

Kimn was less than pleased with her results.

“[At first] I was disappointed to have placed third, but after thinking about it the whole day after competition, I chose to use this experience to bring improvement to my routine so that I can gain better results,” Kimn said.

Band members consider themselves more than a band, but rather a family all working towards one goal.

“We really commit ourselves to this art more than just an ordinary band, but as a family and working to continue our legacy from our predecessors who put just as much effort. [It] is a feeling that can’t be taken away or described,” senior Alex Liang said.