By Barbara Heninger

Mountain View High School Spartan Marching Band colorguard members Alicia Noble, Annie Rygiol, Haley Schwartz, Lindsey Sutton and Emma Terry celebrate winning the parade auxiliary sweepstakes at the 2006 Lodi Grape Bowl Classic. The Spartans earned 26 awards for their 2006 marching season.

The Mountain View High School Spartan Marching Band took the Lodi Grape Bowl Classic competition by storm Nov. 4, winning the Perpetual Grand Sweepstakes award for its field show, “Tsunami.”

The band won the award, known as the Lady of Lodi, for the second year in a row, beating out 37 bands from Northern California and two bands from Utah.

“It was really awesome - it felt so good,” said colorguard member Emma Terry, a sophomore.

The Spartan show featured an extended samba, highlighting the percussion ensemble, while the colorguard and band members performed intricate dance routines.

“It was a perfect way to end my senior year,” said drum major Isaac Giron, who won the first-place field show drum major trophy.

The 182-member band won sweepstakes awards for field show, field show general effects, music and visual performance, and drum major (Giron), as well as taking first in AA class for field show, percussion and auxiliary.

“I was very, very proud of them up there,” said Mountain View Principal Keith Moody.

Earlier in the day, the Spartans earned first place in the AA class parade competition, as well as parade auxiliary sweepstakes and showmanship sweepstakes. Overall, the band earned 26 awards for their 2006 marching season, including first-place field show auxiliary (class AA) at the Foothill Band Review in Pleasanton Oct. 28 and first-place parade drum major awards for Jeff Chiang at both the Pleasanton event and the Cupertino Tournament of Bands Oct. 14.

“I had a 46-year-old former student say how proud he was that he felt a connection to our band,” said Music Director Robin Kramer.

“It’s the best feeling in the world to win,” said saxophone player Aaron Elman.