After the beginning contestants finished their acts, The Stampede prepared to take the stage. Before taking the stage, the song Drummer Boy Remastered by Justin Bieber played loudly for everyone in the audience to hear. Moments after the song started playing, the staff of The Stampede got into a single line, facing towards the audience. Cosette Ganci (‘22) appeared Infront of the line of the staffers and other editors of The Stampede, air-drummed, while Ganci mouthed the lyrics for the crowd to see. 

   “I was definitely a little bit nervous because I knew I was going to look kind of ridiculous since I was wearing a hat to look like Justin Bieber and everything, and I normally don’t participate in those kinds of activities, and I know a few of our staffers were getting nervous because they’re freshmen so this was their first experience doing something like that,” Ganci said.  

   After The Stampedes act ended, the NJROTC took the stage. Throughout their act they played various songs that lasted longer than the regulated time. Alyssa Baker (‘24) a staffer for The Stampede, worried that their act wasn’t as long.  

   “The NJROTC’s act was long lasting and easy to tell the hard work that they put into their act. I noticed several times that their lips were not seeming to match with the lyrics, but didn’t think much of it,” Baker said.  

   After the NJROTC’s long act ended, people applauded, and soon it was time for the voting to begin. A judge appeared in front of the students who watched the acts and asked them to yell for the better team. First the judge started with The Stampede and many people cheered them on, but when the judge said NJROTC the crowd cheered louder and more chaotic than before. At this point everyone thought that NJROTC would take the win but in awe, the judge announced that Stampede had been the winners.  

   “I was very shocked. I didn’t expect to win at all until the judges started giving a whole speech about lyrics having to be accurate and staying within the time limit. Then I knew that we were going to win on a technicality, which is why Cate [Miller (‘22)] handed the trophy to JROTC, because we all knew that they deserved it,” Ganci said. 

  The viewers cheered as Cate handed over the gold microphone trophy to NJROTC. Next year The Stampede plans to work harder for an earned win, and the JROTC will plan to make their performance around the lyrics of their songs.