Saturday the Russellville Marching Panthers will be closing their 2009 Marching season in Louisville, Ky at the State competition. They will compete in the State Class A Semifinals at 1:15 p.m. 
EST at Eastern High School, 12400 Old Shelbyville Road. The top four Class A schools will then compete for the State Championship Saturday evening at Papa Johns Stadium on Louisville.  
Last Saturday the Panthers competed in the Class A Regional West and placed 4^th with a score of 79.30.  They missed the third place spot by six-tenths of a point to Owensboro Catholic. The previous week Owensboro Catholic defeated the Panthers by six full points.
The regional scores show the continuing improvement of the Marching Panthers. The band has 33 members and 15 of those members are freshman.
This year has been the most successfull for our band in a long time. We surprised several bands in the Class A Regional. The unique Spanish show with our students dressing in Spanish theme attire along with a big sound caught the attention of judges at regional competition. 
The 33 students have put in over 5,520 hours of combined practice time outside of the classroom, ball games and competitions in this 2009 season. They have worked very hard to prepare for this Saturday, and they are determined to be a Class A band that the state of Kentucky will be talking about when this competition is over.
Mary Celsor, the Spirit  Chairperson for the Marching Panthers, has planned a BIG send off this Saturday at 6:30 a.m. at the corner of C. Dodson Lane and U.S. 68-80 East. 
If you are a former band student, booster, alumni and public supporter of the Marching Panthers, our students need your encouragement Saturday morning at 6:30. We encourage everyone to come out and show your support. Park along the highway and blow your car horns or make signs and stand with us at the corner of C. Dodson Lane.
We know for many that is a sleep-in-late day, but it will mean so much to our students.