Orlando, FL - 1998 DCI Championships

Division III Finals

93.8 - Mandarins (High Visual, High Percussion)

93.3 - Phantom Legion (Best Colorguard, High Brass, High General Effect)

89.9 - Yamato

88.3 - St. John's

85.7 - Blue Stars

84.0 - General Butler Vagabonds (Spirit of Disney Award)

83.4 - Lone Star

81.5 - Bayonne Raiders

Close scoring battles characterized the 1998 DCI Championship Division II/III Finals, turning up the competitive heat to match the Florida climate. The smallest possible 0.1 margin separated Mandarins and Phantom Legion at the top, with a mere 0.5 victory margin for the Mandarins in finals seeming decisive by comparison.

The Mandarins won their sixth DCI Division III title today, the last three coming consecutively. But to call them "dominant" in their division would fail to acknowledge the close pursuit they faced.

A large 0.6 edge in visual performance won it for the Mandarins, whose overall lead was only 0.5 tonight. All other captions in Division III were settled by 0.1 margins except GE music, where Phantom prevailed by 0.2.

Again, the field percussion section wowed the crowd, clearly displaying the finest battery the Mandarins have ever put together and pulling top performance marks. The corps also swept the visual captions with an exposed, varied drill and their usual top-notch guard work.

DCI Division III Prelims

95.8 - Mandarins

95.7 - Phantom Legion

91.7 - St. John's

91.3 - Yamato

90.7 - Blue Stars

87.9 - Lone Star

86.6 - General Butler Vagabonds

86.2 - Bayonne Raiders

85.4 - Citations

84.7 - 3rd Regiment

83.9 - Lake Erie Regiment

81.9 - Les Senateurs

78.4 - Spectrum

76.2 - Knight Storm

74.8 - Conqueror II

74.7 - Emerald Knights

73.4 - Phoenix, NJ

72.6 - Marion Cadets

70.0 - Phoenix, MA

67.2 - Racine Scouts

65.8 - Illusion

65.5 - Bandettes

62.6 - The Volunteers

60.7 - Cadets of Brooklyn

48.6 - William Lucas

There's never a dull moment in Division III competition, and today was no exception. Competition was stiff among the 25 entrants, especially at the top, where the Mandarins topped the Phantom Legion by the smallest of possible margins.

The Mandarins seem to do just fine no matter what the weather. They won top percussion and visual, rightfully so, but the huge bulges in those winning performance scores didn't seem justified today. The battery continues to excel, but pit execution is not tight enough to earn a spread over Phantom Legion's fine drum line. Drill is clean and the guard is particularly sharp, but the Mandarins do not have as demanding a drill this year. Still, the wins were valid, coupled with top ensemble visual and close second-place finishes in several other captions.

August 7 - Rocky Mount, NC - North American Open

Division III Finals

91.5 - Mandarins

91.1 - Phantom Legion

88.3 - Yamato

87.4 - St. John's

83.2 - Vagabonds

82.0 - 3rd Regiment

81.7 - Les Senateurs

81.5 - Blue Stars

80.6 - Lone Star

77.0 - Knight Storm

Division III Prelims

92.4 - Mandarins

91.6 - Phantom Legion

89.8 - Yamato

88.2 - St. John's

84.0 - Blue Stars

84.3 - Vagabonds

81.0 - Lone Star

80.5 - 3rd Regiment

77.4 - Knight Storm

76.7 - Bayonne Raiders

76.2 - Lake Erie Regiment

69.5 - Marion Cadets

68.9 - Citations

68.1 - Emerald Knights

66.5 - Spectrum

66.1 - Phoenix NJ

63.9 - Conqueror II

61.4 - Phoenix MA

59.6 - Cadets of Brooklyn

59.3 - Bandettes

55.2 - Illusion

45.6 - Gulf Coast Sound

44.7 - Williams Lucas

The Division III race grew even racier at the 1998 North American Open. The title battle became brutal today as the Mandarins held only a 0.8 lead in prelims, then saw that margin cut in half in the night show.

Runner-up Phantom Legion swept the GE captions in both rounds, exchanging other captions with the Mandarins, but trailing by a damaging spread in ensemble visual. The Mandarins' excellent battery is almost enough to win drum captions alone, but the pit lacks demand in much of the show and remains dirty in the thickly scored portions. Some ensemble problems still remain due to the complexity of the percussion book in spots; both pit and battery are guilty. For Phantom Legion, the percussion ensemble is cohesive. A couple less random individual errors in a show would leave them on top. Marching is a similar story. Stamina is an issue in one section late in the show, where peak drill demand coincides with a long sustained brass push.

August 2 - DCI Division II/III - Cascade, WI

87.5 - Phantom Legion

82.7 - Blue Stars

81.7 - Americanos

78.0 - Bayonne Raiders

59.7 - Racine Scouts

July 31 - Grand Haven, MI - Coast Guard Open

Division III Finals

88.1 - Mandarins

85.0 - Phantom Legion

76.3 - Les Senateurs

76.3 - Yamato

75.4 - Bayonne Raiders

Division III Prelims

85.8 - Phantom Legion

85.0 - Mandarins

80.9 - Bayonne Raiders

80.7 - Les Senateurs

80.6 - Yamato

79.6 - Blue Stars

78.1 - St. John's

72.5 - 3rd Regiment

72.1 - Erie Regiment

71.2 - Emerald Knights

69.3 - Marion Cadets

68.9 - Lone Star

68.5 - Conqueror II

67.8 - Knight Storm

60.6 - Volunteers

57.0 - Racine Scouts

52.1 - Bandettes

45.4 - Kingsmen

Though not according to plan, the 1998 Coast Guard Open became the first clash of the Division III title contenders Phantom Legion and the Mandarins. The results? Phantom Legion defeated the mighty Mandarins in prelims, declaring the start of a war that will not end until finals in Orlando. But the Mandarins fought back like champions in finals and in doing so became champions once again by a surprising three-point margin.

Judges are to be commended for giving credit where credit is due. In Division III, where touring is sporadic, members are less experienced, and learning is more rapid, units often take large leaps forward (and on occasion, backward) from show to show. Scores this year are showing a remarkable correlation to these performance fluctuations, making for an exciting and satisfying series of contests.

As a prime example of such fluctuations, the Mandarins gained four points on Phantom Legion between prelims and finals and that's about how much better their finals performance was. At prelims, my expectations for the many-time Division III DCI champs were not met. Besides the auxiliary work and the job the battery did on their feature, there were no other thrills. Sopranos were weak. Drums nailed their accents, but were not clear on unaccented parts. Even the drill seemed to lack appeal, save for the battery's drill during their feature.

Clearly determined to defend their Grand Haven win of last year, the Mandarins stepped up the energy in finals. The sopranos provided more sound in several key portions of the music. The whole horn line made better use of dynamics and clicked into focus mentally to improve timing. The battery cleaned up tremendously. Brass performance and ensemble music scores shot upward.

The Phantom Legion delivers effect and sheer power of a magnitude rarely seen in Division III. Having tasted victory on the DCI level, Phantom Legion was given a lesson just hours later in finals. Only the final victory of a season can be savored. In close competition among rapidly advancing corps, the most recent winning performance is rarely good enough to win again. Able only to match their prelim showing, Phantom Legion learned those lessons the hard way. It is a strange feeling for a corps to be better than they ever have been and to win, and then to realize that they must somehow improve even more, perhaps dramatically. But that is what champions must do.

July 18 - DCI - McHenry, IL

71.8 - Tarheel Sun

61.1 - Phantom Legion

46.6 - Blue Grass Brass Sr.

43.0 - Marion Cadets

38.0 - Memorial Lancers

36.4 - Marquis

July 15 - DCM - Kansas City, MO

82.2 - Madison Scouts

80.8 - Glassmen

78.8 - Crossmen

63.1 - Kiwanis Kavaliers

57.2 - Phantom Legion

44.0 - Marion Cadets

July 14 - DCM - St Louis, MO

81.3 - Madison Scouts

79.8 - Glassmen

78.1 - Crossmen

63.8 - Kiwanis Kavaliers

56.6 - Phantom Legion

44.0 - Marion Cadets

36.7 - Memorial Lancers

July 11 - DCM - Championship Finals - DeKalb, IL - Division III

56.6 - Phantom Legion

48.4 - General Butler Vagabonds

40.4 - Marion Cadets

38.3 - Coachmen

July 5 - DCM - Dixon, IL

76.0 - Phantom Regiment

58.2 - Troopers

56.0 - Phantom Legion

46.7 - Marion Cadets

38.4 - Memorial Lancers

37.0 - Racine Scouts

July 3 - DCM - Rockford, IL

53.9 - Phantom Legion

50.1 - Americanos

40.5 - Blue Grass Brass Sr.

38.6 - Coachmen

July 2 - DCM - Streator, IL

76.7 - Phantom Regiment

71.1 - Colts

65.1 - Pioneer

56.5 - Troopers

53.9 - Phantom Legion

51.0 - Americanos

50.5 - Blue Stars

41.5 - Coachmen

July 1 - DCM - Dayton, OH

76.5 - Glassmen

75.8 - Phantom Regiment

64.0 - Pioneer

53.0 - Phantom Legion

50.3 - Cincinnati Glory

41.7 - Marion Cadets

22.8 - Bandettes