Eastwood High School snare line wins first place at international competition

EL PASO, Texas -- It's proof that practice does indeed make perfect.

The snare line at Eastwood High School recently competed at an international convention for percussion in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Not only did they compete, but they also won, finishing in first place in the category of individual and ensemble performance.

The five members of the Eastwood snare line are Brian Gonzalez, Dante Blanco, Matthew Megliorino, Thomas Cerecedes and Eric Chavez.

The convention is called PASIC, which stands for Percussive Arts Society International Convention.

Every year, PASIC attracts some of the best percussionists from around the world.

One would think the Troopers would be nervous headed into such an esteem convention, but they kept their composure.

"It was like half exciting, half nervous," Eastwood snare line member, Dante Blanco said. "But once we got on the stage and performed, I was really excited and pumped for it. It's like, we finally made it."

The title of the piece the group performed was called "El Chupacabra", a nod to the snare line's Borderland roots.

"El Chupacabra" was an original piece composed by Doug Bush, specifically for the Eastwood snare line.

It was a truly nerve racking experience for the group's instructors as well.

Art Avila Jr. is the drum line's head director, and Edward Escobedo is the snare line instructor.

"Because we were nervous for them. We definitely felt the pressure that they did," Avila said. "But they held strong. the commitment to this process really proved their hard work to prevail in the end."

While winning an international competition is a grand achievement, Troopers aren't resting on their laurels.

"I want to top this," Blanco said. "We made it, but I want to make it to world champions again. I want to do better."