The Kiefer High School and Middle School Winter Guards capped off a successful 2009 competition season with both guards winning the Winter Guard and Percussion of Oklahoma (WGPO) state championships March 28 at Southmoore High School. The High School guard won the Regional Scholastic A state championship and the Jr. High guard won the Cadet State Championship. The WGPO circuit is made up of fifty-five units through the state of Oklahoma. Some of the units also compete in the Winter Guard International circuit, a nationally recognized organization of winter guard performance units.

The competition season began January 17^th with the circuit preview at Adair High School. Since then the Kiefer guards have won first place at the competitions at Sapulpa, Moore, Ft. Gibson, Tulsa Memorial, Tahlequah, and Bixby. The High School guard also finished first at Norman North where the Jr. High finished second. The High School guard completed in the WGI St. Louis Regional where they finished 2^nd against guards from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota and Colorado.

This is the fourth year for the High School guard and the second consecutive year they have won the state championship. The Jr. High guard is in it’s first year of competition.

“We’re very proud of the girls, how hard they’ve worked and how well they’ve represented Kiefer schools. They’ve put in a lot of long hours and given up Tuesdays, Thursday, Friday evenings and Saturdays for the last 11 weeks to reach this goal,” stated director Rob Brown. “For them to have competed at the level they have for the last 2 years is simply amazing. I didn’t think anything could top last year’s state championship run, but to turn around and do it again this year says a lot about their commitment.”

This year’s High School show was entitled “Stronger Now”. The guard used dance, flags, sabre and rifles to portray the emotions of a young lady who fell in love, had the love grew cold, and then rebounded to become stronger as she moved down her path in life. The Jr. High show depicted group of girls watching music videos, then were drawn into their own music video using the song “Video Killed the Radio Star.”

The High School guard members include Jessica Crabtree, Ashley Johnson, Amber Lowrey, Sara Manz, Dallas Schreiber and Jaimie Wheeler. The Junior High members are Rachael Hathaway, Jordan Luey, Hannah Markley, Jennifer Swan, Isabelle Wagner and Jessica Wagner. The guards are under the direction of Pride of Trojanland band director Rob Brown, Visual Designer Eric Daugherty and Movement Coordinator Monica Witte.

Kiefer Public Schools, the Kiefer Foundation and the American Heritage Bank sponsor the guards.