The Fishers High School Marching Tiger Band finished fifth in Open Class A at the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) Marching Band State Finals on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Avon won Class A for the fourth straight year. Carmel placed second, followed by Castle in third and Brownsburg in fourth. After Fishers, the rest of the top 10 were Center Grove, Homestead, Carroll, Franklin Central and Westfield.

ISSMA does not release point totals for its events.

Class A is the class for the largest schools. To reach state, a band has to get through regional judging and then semi-state, which leaves only 10 finalist spots in each class. Fishers had one of the night’s last slots and took the field at 10 p.m., shortly before the awards ceremony.

Fifth place is a step up from 2024, when Fishers finished sixth. The Marching Tiger Band has been a regular at state in recent years. It placed third in 2021 and 2022 and fourth in 2023.

Hamilton Southeastern’s Royal Command and Guard also competed in Class A this season. HSE qualified for the Open Class semi-state and performed Oct. 24 at Ben Davis High School, but it was not one of the 10 bands that advanced to state.

Elsewhere in Hamilton County, Carmel’s second-place finish led the county’s bands, and Westfield earned the last spot in the Class A top 10.

The Marching Tiger Band’s season isn’t over yet. The band’s schedule has it competing at the Bands of America Grand Nationals Nov. 12-14 at Lucas Oil Stadium. Further ahead, the band has been chosen to march in the 2028 Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif.

In the other classes, Evansville North repeated as Class B champion, Edgewood won its fourth straight Class C title and Paoli won its 15th Class D state championship. In all, 40 bands competed in the finals.