GILMER, Texas — Several East Texas school bands showed out loud and proud in Waco this week, taking home top place awards for their schools.

The teams competed in the UIL State Contest on Wednesday in McLane Stadium at Baylor University. Their placements are:

Longview's band won second place in the 5A/6A competition, and Lufkin High School placed fifth. Cleveland High School near Houston was the overall first place winner.

The Longview High School Big Green Marching Machine celebrated their fourth consecutive trip to the state finals. The band placed fourth in 2021, earned bronze in 2023, and now it has back-to-back silver medals in 2024 and 2025.

“When it comes to hard work, I would put the Big Green Marching Machine up against any band in any classification,” said Rhonda Daniel, Long

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