ONTARIO, OH - In September, the Ontario High School Marching Band will compete and perform in the Ohio State University's Buckeye Invitational, one of only 40 bands to be selected to do so. The Buckeye Invitational is a competition for high school marching bands and takes place at the Ohio Stadium on the OSU campus.

The Director of the Ontario Marching Band, Sean Delong, spoke about the competition during a pre-season marching band show on Thursday night. The pre-season show was the first band-only performance in the stadium in several years.

"That's a huge thing for us," Delong said. "There were about 300 bands that applied from around the state. We were only one of 40 that were selected to go and perform. We're excited to be able to represent Ontario and our school and have the band do a really special performance there."

Delong says students put in several hours of practice a day for months on end to make this year's performances better than ever for crowds visiting the Friday-night football games.

"It's been a several-month process," Delong said. "There's a lot of time and effort and energy that goes into it. It's worth it when you hear what's going on behind me and how much excitement there is in the students."

The band will perform at the Ohio Stadium for the Buckeye Invitational on Saturday, September 29th.