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Of the band's 45 entries, 33 earned either section superior or excellent ratings, the top two ratings possible. Students from Paynesville, Brooten-Belgrade-Elrosa, Eden Valley-Watkins, and New London-Spicer competed at the band contest.

According to band director Ken Vork, Paynesville students excelled at the competition, earning a higher percentage of superiors than any other school in the competition.

Five Paynesville students earned perfect scores of 40: senior Melissa Andre, flute solo; sophomore Lindsey Pelton, alto sax solo; sophomore Katie Schlick, horn solo; ninth grader Rachel Schmidt, horn solo; and junior Valerie Callenius, euphonium solo. This is the highest number of perfect scores ever earned by Paynesville students, said Vork.

The following students earned section superior ratings in solo competition with scores of 36 or higher: Melissa Andrie, flute; Val Callenius, euphonium; Morgan Kern, saxophone; Caitlin Lien, flute; Kayla Nelson, flute; Lindsey Pelton, saxophone; Meredith Schaumann, horn; Rachel Schmidt, horn; Katie Schlick, horn; Ashley Spanier, flute; Chad Stang, saxophone; and Peder Thompson, trombone.

The following students earned section superior ratings for ensembles: Brenna Kochmann and Laura Weidner (flute duet); Amber Chevalier, Randi Schaefer, Cary Schlick, Sami Tierney, Krista Wendroth, and Angie Wunsch (clarinet ensemble); and Amber Chevalier, Sami Tierney, and Angie Wunsch (clarinet trio).

The following students earned section excellent ratings in solo competition with scores of 31 or higher: Sam Bayer, trumpet; Holly Bennett, horn; Cody Burr, trumpet; Amber Chevalier, clarinet; Dugan Flanders, trombone; Celia Frieler, euphonium; Brian Korman, tuba; Emily Lindeman, saxophone; Marissa Mackedanz, trumpet; Emily Mehr, clarinet; John Mohr, tuba; Mike Mueller, trumpet; Bobby O'Fallon, tuba; Karla Schaefer, trumpet; Peter Schreifels, saxophone; Sami Tierney, clarinet; and Brad Torborg, tuba.

And the following two ensembles earned section excellent ratings: Melissa Andrie, Rachel Hanson, Jessica Paul, and Jessica Virant (flute quartet); and Lacey Bengtson, Val Callenius, Joan Keller, Kristi Louis, Kirsten Miller, Samantha Moser, Alex Naujokas, and Jessica Paul (percussion ensemble).

guards to supervise the beach at Veteran's Memorial Park this summer.