Illinois marching bands face off at Morton High School Invitational

MORTON, Ill. (WMBD) — Going for gold by playing their hearts out through instrumentation.

Nineteen Illinois high schools competed against each other in the 18th annual Morton High School Marching Invitational on Saturday.

Competition classes include Overall Grand Champion and awards for best music, general effect, auxiliary and percussion in each class.

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Students performing in the competition shared their experiences with the tournament.

"I think that Morton's known for having a very, like, welcoming environment," said Hannah Strubhar, a senior in Morton High School Marching Band. "Our show is known for having really good judges to not just help shows get better, but also help other bands in the area see each other."

"It's really exciting," said Abigail Foster, a senior in the Morton High School Marching Band. "We have a really cool show this year. Parts of it are kind of scary. Like we're on props at some points or we're booking it across the field. But it's just a very fun show. It's fun to see the audience, interact with them.

The list of high schools competing includes:

The competition took place beginning at 3 p.m. with the Morton High School Marching Band performing an exhibition show to complete the tournament.