NATCHEZ &045;&045; Performing for 70,000 eyes in the center of the glitz and lights of the Capital One Bowl last weekend was enough to make New Year’s memories for two Adams County Christian students.

&uot;It’s an adrenaline rush,&uot; senior Jessica Thomas said. &uot;Big time.&uot;

Thomas and junior Liz Sanderson performed during the halftime show of the bowl game with other band members, cheerleaders, dancers and flag guard members from around the country.

The girls received the invitation to participate in the show at their annual summer camp at the University of Southern Mississippi. They were ranked on several skills and invited based on their performance.

To make the trip they had to raise $1,000 through donations from friends, family and local businesses. Once in Orlando, Fla., they met up with the 800 other performers and started practice sessions.

&uot;There was lots and lots of practice,&uot; Sanderson said. &uot;About 15 hours.&uot;

The group did two routines, which lasted about three minutes each, but the girls said the short time on the field was worth the trip.

&uot;It goes by real quickly,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;You worry about remembering (the routine), but then you just do it perfect.&uot;

Prior to the weeklong trip the participants are mailed a video of the routine to become familiar with.

The $1,000 package also included a trip to Disney World during one day of the trip.

&uot;We made friends from every where,&uot; Sanderson said.

Both girls had previously performed at the bowl game and said they’d both like to do it again, but were not sure if they would.

Thomas plans to head to college at Copiah-Lincoln next year, then wants to attend Ole Miss and work toward a job in the medical field.

Sanderson also plans to attend Co-Lin, followed by LSU.

Sanderson said she plans to be in the flag guard in college and also play her clarinet in the band, but Thomas wasn’t sure if she would continue with the band.