Running, music, school. Mount Vernon senior Kode Banwart does it all during the fall. Banwart was the drum major for the Marching Mustangs as well as a member of the Mount Vernon-Lisbon cross country team. Between those two things and managing school, you could say Banwart had a very busy start to his senior year.

“An average day was getting up early to go to early-bird marching band at 7 a.m., going to school, then going to cross country until after 5 p.m. On Mondays, it was even more difficult because I had to go to a Monday night rehearsal from 6-9: p.m. Managing it was easy, though, because I liked what I was doing.”

Banwart also shared what made cross country so special for him, stating: “I really just liked the people in it. All those dudes from my grade to the freshman class were really cool. My favorite memory from this season had to be when we made fun of one of my friends for not asking a girl to homecoming, even though we offered him $250 for it.” Banwart said it was hard not making his ultimate goal of running at state, but that he personally had his best year yet.

As far as managing his school work and practicing his two hobbies, Banwart said that was the hardest part of all. Usually, academics ended up being in last place as far as priorities. “By the time I actually got home, I was so exhausted I just wanted to sleep instead of doing homework. Focusing on school is really tough on top of all that stuff.”

Being the drum major, Banwart was also a highly treasured member of the band. He could be seen conducting the Marching Mustangs on Friday nights during the football games or during the band’s competitions. Banwart says he has a passion for band, despite what some people might think of it. “Some people call band people names or make fun of them, that’s just their loss. There are some people that are obviously different, but I still really like it.”

“I really liked how everything finally came together and we started winning competitions. The overall aspect that people were buying in to what Mr. Weber wanted to build was very fun to see. The thing I will miss most is spending time with a lot of people I normally wouldn’t hang out with,” said Banwart. He strongly encourages everyone to give the band a try, no matter your personality or life outside of music.

The Mount Vernon senior does not plan on running in college at all and as of now isn’t planning on music either. Banwart will attend Iowa State for computer engineering.