The Walton High School winter guard team concluded the 2026 season with first-place finishes recently in the Winter Guard International Buford Regional and the Southern Association for Performing Arts (SAPA) Championships.
In a release from the Cobb County School District, Walton was tops among 34 teams in regional competition, and edged 14 other schools from Georgia Alabama and Tennessee in the SAPA event in Chattanooga.
WGI competitions include color guard, percussion and marching band programs of high school students, as well as indoor wind ensembles.
At Walton, the Winter Guard program is part of the Walton band program and consists of Color Guard in the fall and Winter Guard in the winter, with both varsity and junior varsity teams.
The Winter Guard performs separately from December to April, and this year was led by first-year director Jordan Fleming.
This year the team’s production was “Will You Be There?” and was set to a soundtrack inspired by Brady Turner’s “Can You Stand the Rain?”
The Cobb school district release said that the Walton “performance blends emotion, storytelling, and technical skill. Throughout the season, the team has refined every movement and visual element, creating a show that resonates with both judges and audiences.”
“We are extremely proud of this young team of performers,” Fleming said in the release. “They have done a wonderful job of representing our community through competition and hard work. I see a bright future ahead for the Walton Color Guard teams. Go Raiders!”
Related:
- Dodgen Middle School holds 50th anniversary celebration
- East Cobb art, music teachers honored by school district
- East Cobb students named Cobb Water photography winners
- Walton student advances to regional STAR competition
- Dodgen MS teacher honored by music educators association
- Walton freshman writes epic fantasy novel
- Rocky Mount ES teacher and coach arrested on incest charges
- East Cobb preschool rallies around teacher battling cancer
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!