Bloomington Kennedy, Jefferson Triumph in Different South Dakota Contests

By Quinn Masek, Siouxland contributor

On Feb. 28, both Bloomington high school show choir programs traveled to different competitions in South Dakota, and both of them won. There was a lot underneath the surface too at the Sioux Falls O’Gorman Standing O and Vermillion Rhythm In Red Invitational.

Sioux Falls O’Gorman Standing O Final Results

GC: Bloomington Kennedy “Rhythm In Gold” (BV/BC/BB)

1RU: Elkhorn South “Blackout”

2RU: Mitchell “Friend de Coup”

3RU: Waconia “Power Company”

4RU: Elkhorn South “Shock Wave”

5RU: Aberdeen Central “Eagle Express”

Eagle Express has had a bit of a less successful season on paper in 2026, but notches a finals berth here. They will head to an extremely competitive Sioux City East event this weekend, where they will need to give it their all to advance to the evening round again.

Shock Wave ends their season by making finals once again, stringing together overall placements of fifth, fifth, sixth, and fifth. The only time this group has missed finals this season was at Gretna East, where they were third in division.

Power Company also ended their season at O’Gorman, taking fourth place, the lowest the group has placed all season. However, it was not that they had a bad showing and more that the competition was very good, as this was the first time PoCo placed lower than second all season.

Seeing FDC in third place is a little discombobulating, since they were the group most people thought would win this competition. They, like Aberdeen Central, will compete at Sioux City East this weekend and will face more good groups like Gretna East and Elkhorn North.

Blackout had one heck of a finals performance, and second place is a great way to end their season. Blackout overall had a much better season this year than last year, taking two Grand Champion trophies home this season.

After losing to River City Revolution at the beginning of the season, Rhythm In Gold has won four competitions back to back… to back… to back. Indigo Gabriel is continuing to break records by now holding 15 best soloist awards over the course of their show choir career. Bloomington Kennedy isn’t done yet as they’ll travel to Los Alamitos in a couple weeks to compete against California groups.

Vermillion Rhythm In Red Invitational Final Results

1st: Bloomington Jefferson “Jefferson Connection” (BC)

2nd: Millard South “South On Stage” (BV)

3rd: Sioux Falls Jefferson “Legacy”

4th: Harrisburg “Eclipse”

5th: Bloomington Jefferson “JIVE” (BB)

This is not the first time that JIVE has made finals this season, and ironically, it’s also not the first time they’ve gotten fifth overall this season. This is definitely a womens group to keep an eye on in the future.

Eclipse is halfway through their season, and so far they have made the podium twice. But this could double at their next two competitions, Emmetsburg and Aberdeen Central.

Legacy ends their season with a podium finish. The group was originally in second place in prelims but was bounced back to third in finals. Sioux Falls Jefferson is the first of the big South Dakota groups to end their season, with Sioux Falls Roosevelt and Aberdeen Central ending their seasons this weekend at Sioux City East and Washington going another weekend after that at Aberdeen.

This is the highest placement for South on Stage this season, taking Best Vocals from Jefferson Connection and Legacy. This weekend they will attend Lewis Central where they will compete against Gretna, Lincoln East, Papio South, and Indianola.

After going winless the last three years, Jefferson Connection ends their season with not one, but two Grand Champion trophies. This is definitely a group that has been on the rise all season, and an outfit that definitely has the potential to become a major Minnesota power player in the future.