The FUHS drumline enters several competitions each year, fine tuning their skills each performance. After years of improving bit by bit, the team finally hit gold at the Winter Guard Association of Southern California (WGASC) competition, where the drumline performed Connectivity and earned its first-ever championship title.
What began as a program that didn’t exist at FUHS has grown into a championship-winning drumline, making a historic first-place finish in the Novice Division of WGASC for the 2026 season. The achievement represents years of steady growth, rebuilding, and persistence rather than a single standout season.
Twelve years ago, the school’s instrumental music director, Troy Trimble launched the drumline program from scratch, aiming to build a competitive ensemble that would give students structured performance experience in percussion and movement-based music.
“When I started, we didn’t have a competitive drumline at all,” Trimble said. “The program was still really new, so a lot of it was just building everything from the ground up and giving students an opportunity to compete.”
Drumline is a competitive performance where students execute timed shows–typically four to seven minutes–built around percussion, visual movements, and choreographed formations. Groups are evaluated at competitions and ranked against other schools.
This year’s show featured an electronic-inspired theme centered around technology and connection. Senior Zak Juknelis described the performance as visually unique, with robot-inspired costumes, circuit board designs, and electronic sound effects woven through the music.
“The floor was like a circuit board, and we marched around the circuits,” Juknelis said. “It was cool.”
Juknelis, who has been part of drumline since freshman year, said this season stood out because of the difficulty of the music and the strong chemistry within the group.
“The music was harder than normal, so we had to lock in more,” he said. “But everyone was really experienced and our team dynamic was really good this year.”
Students practiced several days a week after school, often repeating sections of the show until movements, timing, and music were fully cleaned.
For first-year member Dominick Islas, the season pushed him both mentally and physically.
“It was hard. I felt like quitting sometimes,” Islas said. “But I kept bouncing back and didn’t give up.”
Despite the demanding rehearsals and early competition call times, both students said the experience was worth it once competition season arrived.
Neither performers expected the final results.
“They called fourth placed, and it wasn’t us,” Juknelis said. “Then they called third, and it still wasn’t us. When they called second place and it wasn’t us either, we realized we got first. It didn’t feel real.”
The team reacted immediately with celebration, hugging, yelling, and taking photos together after the announcement.
The victory marks the program’s first championship since its creation and a major milestone for the school’s music department. For many students, the win represented more than a trophy–it reflected years of preparation, teamwork, and persistence finally paying off.
