ELIZABETHTOWN, KY - The Garrard County High School Marching Band competed in the Kentucky Music Educators Association (KMEA) Class 3A Semifinals on Saturday, October 26, 2024, at Elizabethtown High School, finishing 10th in a field of twelve competitive bands.

The Lancaster-based ensemble took the field at 12:00 PM, performing for a panel of seven adjudicators who evaluated the band across multiple categories including music performance, visual performance, and general effect.

The Golden Lions earned their highest marks in the visual performance category, where they scored 8.30 out of 10 possible points for their ensemble visual performance. The band's music performance showed consistency across both ensemble and individual categories, earning scores of 78 and 76 respectively.

Murray High School emerged as the overall winner of the semifinal round with a commanding score of 91.050, while Garrard County finished with a total score of 79.300. Despite placing 10th, the GCHS band demonstrated particular strength in their visual execution, ranking 7th in the visual ensemble subcategory among the competing bands and 5th in general visual effect.

The competition, which ran from 9:45 AM to 1:45 PM EDT at Elizabethtown High School's campus, featured some of Kentucky's finest Class 3A marching bands. Each band was evaluated on various components including music performance (both ensemble and individual), visual performance, and general effect, with scores being weighted and combined for final rankings.

The KMEA Class 3A Semifinals represents one of the most significant competitions of the Kentucky marching band season, serving as a qualifying event for state finals.

Based on the scoring sheet from the KMEA Class 3A Semifinals, here are the top 6 finishers with their final scores:

1. Murray High School (Murray, KY) - 91.050

2. Bourbon County High School (Paris, KY) - 87.500

3. Adair County High School (Columbia, KY) - 85.900

4. Hopkinsville High School (Hopkinsville, KY) - 85.200

5. Russell County High School (Russell Springs, KY) - 84.400

6. Taylor County High School (Campbellsville, KY) - 83.900

Murray High School won decisively, leading all major captions including Music Performance, Visual Performance, and General Effect. They scored particularly well in the Visual Performance category, earning a 9.40 for ensemble and 9.25 for individual performance, the highest scores awarded in those subcategories.