MIDDLEBURY -- Students at Goshen, Fairfield, Northridge and Concord high schools won't be the only Elkhart County natives at today's state marching band finals.

Northridge graduate Adrian Hartsough, an assistant director at Beech Grove High School, is bringing his band to state for the first time in almost 20 years.

Hartsough played the mellophone and baritone and served as a section leader on the field in the Northridge "Raider" Band from 1994-98. Northridge never qualified for state while he was there. This is the second time a band he's been affiliated with has gone to state -- Carmel High School's marching band placed first in state when he was student teaching there in 2002.

From there, Hartsough took a job with the Wawasee Community School Corporation. The band went to regionals the year he taught there. After that, he was the head director at Western Boone Junior-Senior High School in Thorntown, Ind. Under his direction, Western Boone qualified for regionals -- an accomplishment Hartsough said was a big deal for the school at the time.

Now he's taking Beech Grove to the state finals at Lucas Oil Stadium today with head director Cory Wynn. Hartsough said that the last time Beech Grove went to state (1990) none of his students were even born. He said the band has come close a few times since then, and added that the band is quite young this year (there are more middle school students in it than high school seniors).

"They've just been on cloud nine all week," Hartsough said. "This was something that they put as a goal for themselves at the beginning of the season."

Hartsough said the state finals bid is even more special, because his alma mater will be there. Northridge was in Class C when Hartsough was there, which is the class Beech Grove competes in. Northridge has since moved to Class B.

"My kids are competing against all the same bands I was competing against when I was in high school," Hartsough said.

Fairfield is also in the Class C finals today.

Hartsough said his parents still live in Goshen. When he lived in Elkhart County, he participated in Elkhart Civic Theater, 4-H and was a member of the First Church of God.

Hartsough's band performs at 2:23 p.m.