The West Orange High School Marching Mountaineers opened their 2025 competition season with a standout performance, capturing first place at the USBands Passaic Valley “Live at the Hive” show on September 13.

Performing their new production, “Reclaimed,” for the first time in competition, the Mountaineers impressed both judges and audiences as they competed against eight other bands. The group earned a score of 76.7, winning Group IV Open Class and sweeping the captions for Best Overall Music, Best Overall Visual, and Best Overall Effect. Their score was also the highest of the entire show.

The Marching Mountaineers will next perform at the home football game on Thursday, September 18 at Suriano Stadium, followed by competition at Roxbury High School on Saturday, September 20 at 6:45 PM.