Kaelyn McIntyre

The Run for Ryan 5k: A New Tradition

On Sunday, March 23, the Marching Virginians the first ever Run for Ryan — a 5k honoring Ryan “Stack” Clark. The route began on the MV practice field and continued down Southgate Drive, looping underneath US-460.

The runners were a mix of current MVs and alumni, with former director Dave McKee making a special appearance. On the field, in true MV fashion, the runners (and walkers) were led in group stretches and breathing exercises before doing the Hokie Pokie. Once the pep band kicked off with Tech Triumph, the runners took off, each tapping Stack’s statue on their way out the gate.

Runners were cheered on by volunteers and provided with water along the entire path. While making it up Chicken Hill for the run’s finale was no easy task, the runners were congratulated with the pep band’s many iconic tunes as they crossed the finish line. Afterwards, the runners were provided a lunch of pizza and apples under the pavilion.

While this was the first Run for Ryan 5k held at Virginia Tech, Ryan’s hometown in Georgia hosts a similar 5k each year in honor of his passing. The proceeds of the run are donated to the Ryan Clark Scholarship and Community Service Award, founded by his mother, Mrs. Letitie Clark. The scholarship provides aid to upcoming collegiate students who demonstrate excellence in community service.

For more information about or to donate to the Ryan Clark Scholarship, please visit www.ryanstackclark.org.

Commonwealth Clash: VT v. UVA

The Virginia-Virginia Tech rivalry has a long and storied history. The two teams first faced off in Charlottesville in 1895, but the name “Commonwealth Clash” was not coined until the 2014-15 season. Since its beginning, the Virginia Tech football team leads in victories against UVA 62-38. As of the 2024 season, the UVA football team has not won in Lane Stadium since 1998. The buildup to the game was tense, as both teams were 5-6 in their respective football seasons.

6 wins are needed for bowl eligibility, so the question remained:

Happy Senior Night! Photo courtesy of Andrew Single

Pregame

Long after the sun had set, the MVs entered Lane Stadium for the final home game of the season. Energy was high as we eagerly awaited kickoff. As Hokie fans began to arrive, we started our pregame stands performance with Bom Bom, followed shortly by Crosstown Traffic. The football team then presented their graduating seniors, including key players such as Kyron Drones, Bhayshul Tuten, Antwaun Powell-Ryland, and Aeneas Peebles. The Highty-Tighties then gave their final pregame show just before “Enter Sandman” welcomed the football team to the field.

First Quarter

William “Pop” Watson III made his collegiate football debut as quarterback for the Hokies. While the first few minutes of the quarter were slow, things quickly picked up after Tuten scored the first touchdown of the game. The Hokies later sacked UVA quarterback Tony Muskett. Before the quarter ends, kicker John Love successfully scores a 44-yard field goal, putting the Hokies in the lead 10-0.

Second Quarter

Photo courtesy of Andrew Single

Tension began to build in the second quarter as both teams struggled to score. The Cavaliers managed to score a field goal and made their debut on the scoreboard. Watson makes an impressive delivery to Jaylin Lane, who runs it into the endzone for another Hokie touchdown. Just before the end of the half, John Love scored a 31-yard field goal, securing a score of 20-3 as the clock hit zero.

Halftime

During halftime, the MVs took the field and the fan-favorite Metallica show made a return from the 2023 season. The crowd cheered as the MVs played a medley of iconic Metallica songs including “For Whom The Bell Tolls”, “Fuel”, “Fade To Black”, “Lux Æterna”, and “Enter Sandman”. At the end of the performance, the graduating MVs were announced, including drum majors Emily Tucker and Thomas Chase. Congratulations and happy trails to all of our graduating seniors!

Third Quarter

The intensity continued into the third quarter. A few minutes in, Watson ran the ball into the endzone, scoring the Hokies another touchdown. Later on, the Cavaliers managed to score a touchdown of their own along with a two-point conversion. Love scored another field goal for the Hokies, making the score 30-11 by the end of the quarter.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Single

Fourth Quarter

The Cavaliers managed to score another touchdown with a failed two-point conversion, giving them 6 points at the start of the fourth quarter. After a failed tackle from UVA, Tuten is able to run the ball 58 yards into the endzone for another Hokie touchdown—putting VT in a 20-point lead. The game ends with a final score of 37-17, and the Hokies win another Commonwealth Cup.

The students rush the field as the MVs perform their end-of-game concert of Metallica, VPI Victory March, Swag Surfin’, Tech Triumph, and Superman. With this win, the Hokies finish their football season 6-6. Let’s go bowling!

The Heartbeat of Lane: Meet VT's Drumline

When the MVs take the field, the wind instruments stand at the forefront of it all. From the audience, it’s easy to get lost in the flashy horn moves and warm melodies from the brass and woodwinds. However, if you let yourself fall deeper into the music, you’ll feel the pulse driving each piece forwards. With each precise movement, the drumline is responsible for keeping the music alive.

Despite their integral role, the drumline’s dedication and extra effort is often overlooked. Let’s shift the spotlight and spend a game day with VT’s very own drumline.

Warmups

While wind players are seen strolling into the MVC and playing section sports, the drumline begins grabbing their instruments and getting into formation. They start their rehearsal early by stretching—the arm circles, calf stretches, and laps help build the game day excitement among the section.

Their warm-up consists of 8s, accent taps, triplet rolls, and Pry paradiddles (named after the beloved Hokies football coach). The echoed beats across Chicken Hill signifies the start of rehearsal to the rest of the band and to the surrounding tailgaters.

“We work really hard to make sure everything sounds good… We’re here [early] because we have to be.”

Jin Yun, cymbals

Photo credit: Taylor Harrison

March to Victory

For the MVs, the March to Victory is one of the most impactful game day traditions. It allows us to interact directly with Hokie football fans as we enter Lane Stadium, anxiously awaiting the game. As we make our way to Lane from the MVC, the drumline can be heard playing Beamer Beats and their secondary cadence, which changes each season. These cadences are written by the drumline themselves, making them a unique part of the Virginia Tech football experience.

Pregame

If you look to the center of the MV stands just before the football team makes their appearance, you might be able to see each member of the drumline reach into a box of raisins. As the stadium seats begin to fill, the drumline proudly lifts their raisins to the air and proclaim words of encouragement before consuming the snack. With this, they are ready to watch the Hokies win another game.

“I love being super close to the field and getting to see the whole game.”

Mallie Yun, bassline (white shirt)

Photo credit: Nathalia Berenguer

Drum Cheers

After the game has commenced, the drumline can be heard leading the band through numerous in-game events. The drum cheers “Nokia Style” and “Bojangles” can be heard during second and fourth downs, respectively. Other cheers such as “Percolator” and “Donkey Punch” are played sporadically throughout the game to keep the energy high. The MVs love to dance, and you will notice that every section of the band has choreographed moves for each cheer.

As the final notes of Superman ring across the emptying stadium, light reflects off of metallic cymbals raised high in the air. With that, the game has ended.

What Music Means to the MVs

Music is all around us—even if you aren’t a member of the Marching Virginians. Music has the power to shape how we feel, think, and act. It’s there for us in our best moments and our worst moments.

For the Marching Virginians, music isn’t just a hobby—it’s how we connect with our peers, fans, and community. Every Hokie football fan recognizes the sound of V-Tag after a first-down or of Tech Triumph as the Hokies score a touchdown. Since the music of the Marching Virginians is so important to Virginia Tech, I wanted to know which songs and artists make the Marching Virginians who they are.

Image courtesy of MV Online Content

Why did you learn to play an instrument?

“I’ve loved music since I was born, and my parents always made a huge effort to expose me to all kinds of music… I learned an instrument because that’s what you do in my family—everyone is fairly musical… I found a lot of solace in music.”
— Claudia Pack, Tenor Saxophone
“I thought it was so cool… I grew up as a young child watching shows on TV that had music related things in them—Little Einsteins was a big one for me… When band came around, I was like, ‘this is it, I’m so excited to be able to do this.’”
— Layla Wilson, Trumpet

What is your favorite thing to play in the Marching Virginians?

“My favorite shows [were] Metallica and El Toro [Caliente].”
— Jonathan Amorino, Trombone
“My favorite stand tune is “Bom Bom” — it has really fun horn moves!”
— Quinn O'Conner, Clarinet
“I love “[Welcome to the] Black Parade” because the tenors have melody…we get to show off our skills and how hard we’ve worked.”
— Claudia Pack, Tenor Saxophone

Do you have any special memories related to music?

“My favorite memory is how it feels to perform—not just on the football field, but on stage…just looking out into the audience and seeing everyone’s faces lit up and engaged…it’s such a great feeling.”
— Layla Wilson, Trumpet
“My sister and I have a shared playlist of songs that help us with our anxiety… It reminds us of when she was in high school, I was in middle school, and we would drive to school together while listening to music, and everything was okay.”
— Claudia Pack, Tenor Saxophone

What is your favorite genre of music and why?

““Alternative, because there’s so much that can go underneath it, like Noah Kahan and Hozier… it’s a very broad music genre.””
— Quinn O'Conner, Clarinet
“I love EDM… I love festivals and raves.”
— Jonathan Amorino, Trombone
“My favorite genre is metal… I love the energy that comes with it—heavy drum set, electric guitar…but if you combine it with the strings, like symphonic metal, that’s where it’s at.”
— Layla Wilson, Trumpet
““I’d say jazz [and] rock are my favorites. I love jazz for the complexity of it and rock because it’s all based on jazz. I have a strong ‘dad’ influence on my taste in music… a lot of Billy Joel, Michael McDonald, Doobie Brothers, Dave Matthews band…””
— Claudia Pack, Tenor Saxophone

What song best describes you?

““The vibe I want to give off is “Harlem Nocturne”… The vibe that I think I give off is “Now That’s What I Call Polka” by Weird Al [Yankovic].””
— Claudia Pack, Tenor Saxophone
“I’ll have to go with “Freaks” by Timmy Trumpet — or “Narco” by Timmy Trumpet.”
— Jonathan Amorino, Trombone
“My current hype song is “Good Luck Babe” by Chappell Roan.”
— Quinn O'Conner, Clarinet

Image courtesy of MV Online Content

I had a blast getting to know these MVs and their unique tastes in music. You can learn so much about a person just from their favorite songs. If you ever need to break the ice, try comparing playlists! You never know what you might find.

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