Every Friday night the stands come alive with the spirit of students and the rush of the football team. With the overwhelming excitement of the changing scoreboard and the hard-hitting tackles, fans ignite the stands. However, when it comes to halftime, band and color guard take center stage.With the energizing music and colorful flags fans cannot help but get even more pumped up. Maci Meriwether may seem like just a student who attends Mansfield High School, but come Friday night she will be mesmerizing fans with her school pride.

“Originally, I saw a colorful sign in the hallway and thought I might give it a try and when I did, I fell in love with it,”senior Maci Meriwether said.

Since seventh grade, Maci has been preforming and doing what she loves most, color guard, but just like any other student she has responsibilities outside of guard.

“I’m in two school choirs and I play piano outside of school,” Meriwether said.

On top of these commitments and schoolwork, Maci spends about eight hours a week for regular color guard rehearsals and has contests all day on Saturdays. In addition to this, Maci is also head captain of the guard team.

“As captain, I have to help the team know what to do, keep everything as organized as possible, and be the “go to” person for any questions,” Meriwether said. “The thing I love most about it is getting the opportunity to be a role model for the rest of the team.”

Maci has a passion for what she does and it shows every Friday night when she takes the field. One of her favorite things in the world is the feeling she gets when she preforms in front of hundreds of people.

“You get this adrenaline rush and you get to share something special and your hard work with a bunch of people,”Meriwether said.

Maci and the rest of the color guard team put in much hard work and effort to make those high school football games something that fans and students will remember forever. Make sure to check out the color guard’s performance at the next game!