Fall Friday nights are generally associated with epic clashes between football teams, with the bands providing the soundtrack for those games. As Princeton Senior High School Band Director Greg Richmond explains, bands get the undisputed top billings on fall Saturdays in their band competitions.
“It means a lot for the kids to be able to have their own day and go to these competitions on Saturdays. Also, for us, it is a big community event. [The City of] Princeton really helps us out a lot and it is a big fundraiser for the band,” said Richmond.
For the 2025 edition, the PSHS marching band’s show is called “Princeton on Broadway”, dedicated to tunes made popular by Broadway. However, they were not in the running for any of the awards at Southern Thunder XV.
“We do an exhibition. We do not compete because we are the host band, but we still get judged just so we can have those critiques to listen to, to get better,” said Richmond.
Southern Thunder XV was followed by the annual Beaver Classic marching band competition, which took place at Mitchell Stadium later in the day. Both Bluefield High School and Princeton took part in each other’s competition. Richmond said having the two competitions taking place on the same day help create a whole day of band-filled fun in Mercer County.
“We are very close [as] band directors in Mercer County, Bluefield, PikeView, Princeton, Montcalm…We all work together as best we can and support each other. We have got some really good bands in Mercer County for three schools that have very good bands in one county. Yeah, we’re competitive with some of the bigger counties like Kanawha and Putnam. We always support each other,” said Richmond.
Here are the final results from Southern Thunder XV:
Class D
Color Guard
3 – Summers County Comprehensive High School
2 – Wyoming East High School
1 – Webster County High School
Percussion
3 – Wyoming East High School
2 – Webster County High School
1 – Summers County Comprehensive High School
Drum Major
3 – Wyoming East High School
2 – Summers County Comprehensive High School
1 – Webster County High School
Band
3 – Wyoming East High School
2 – Webster County High School
1 – Summers County Comprehensive High School
Class C
Color Guard
3 – Bland County High School
2 – Shady Spring High School
1 – Bluefield High School
Percussion
3 – Oak Hill High School
2 – Shady Spring High School
1 – Bluefield High School
Drum major
3 – Bland County High School
2 – Shady Spring High School
1 – Bluefield High School
Band
3 – Bland County High School
2 – Shady Spring High School
1 – Bluefield High School
Class B
Color Guard
3 – George Washington High School
2 – Greenbrier East High School
1 – PikeView High School
Percussion
3 – George Washington High School
2 – Greenbrier East High School
1 – PikeView High School
Drum Major
3 – Tazewell High School
2 – PikeView High School
1- Greenbrier East High School
Band
3 – Greenbrier East High School
2 – George Washington High School
1 – PikeView High School
Class A
Color guard
3 – NA
2 – Salem High School
1 – Cabell Midland High School
Percussion
3 – NA
2 – Salem High School
1 – Cabell Midland High School
Drum major
3 – NA
2 – Salem High School
1 – Cabell Midland High School
Band
3 – NA
2 – Salem High School
1 – Cabell Midland High School
Overall
Majorettes
3 – NA
2 – Oak Hill High School
1 – Tazewell High School
Feature twirler
3 – NA
2 – Bluefield High School
1 – George Washington High School
Dance team
3 – PikeView High School
2 – Bluefield High School
1 – Shady Spring High School
Suzy Fry Spirit Award
Here are the results from the 2nd Annual Beaver Classic:
Class D
Auxillary
3 – Independence High School
2 – Webster County High School
1- Liberty High School
Percussion
3 – Liberty High School
2 – Independence High School
1- Webster County High School
Drum Major
3 – Independence High School
2 – Webster County High School
1 – Liberty High School
Band
3 – Liberty High School
2 – Webster County High School
1 – Independence High School
Class C
Auxiliary
3 – NA
2 – Meadow Bridge Regional School
1- James Monroe High School
Percussion
3 – NA
2 – Meadow Bridge Regional School
1- James Monroe High School
Drum Major
3 – NA
2 – NA
1 – James Monroe High School
Band
3 – NA
2 – Meadow Bridge Regional School
1 – James Monroe High School
Class B
Auxiliary
3 – Oak Hill High School
2 – Shady Spring High School
1- Bland County High School
Percussion
3 – Bland County High School
2 – Oak Hill High School
1- Shady Spring High School
Drum Major
3 – Bland County High School
2 – Shady Spring High School
1 – Oak Hill High School
Band
3 – Bland County High School
2 – Oak Hill High School
1 – Shady Spring High School
Class A
Auxiliary
3 – NA
2 – Princeton Senior High School
1- PikeView High School
Percussion
3 – NA
2 – PikeView High School
1- Princeton Senior High School
Drum Major
3 – NA
2 – PikeView High School
1 – Princeton Senior High School
Band
3 – NA
2 – Princeton Senior High School
1 – PikeView High School
Open Class
Auxiliary
3 – NA
2 – NA
1- Cabell Midland High School
Percussion
3 – NA
2 – NA
1- Cabell Midland High School
Drum Major
3 – NA
2 – NA
1 – Cabell Midland High School
Band
3 – NA
2 – NA
1 – Cabell Midland High School
Mel Saunders Marching Excellence Award for Overall Marching Performance
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