Columbia City Cup Closes Competition for Fort Wayne's 2026 Campaign
- 12 hours ago
- 3 min read
By AJ Prentice, Fort Wayne contributor
As the Fort Wayne season comes to a close, Columbia City’s competition is a favorite for many groups to end their season or try and score some last-minute ISSMA points to make state. Being one of two ISSMA competitions in the Fort Wayne region, Columbia City usually hosts a consistent lineup of small groups, and this year is no different. This year, the Cup will take five mixed groups and three single-gender ensembles to finals.
The Lineup
Large Mixed
Homestead “Class Royale”
Northrop “Charisma”
Large Womens
Homestead “Elite”
Northrop “Allure”
Small Mixed
Burris Laboratory "Parliament Sound”
DeKalb “Classic Connection”
Northridge “Northern Lights”
East Noble “Knight Rhythms”
Beech Grove “Jubilaires”
Huntington North “Varsity Singers”
Fairfield “Fusion”
Jay County “Patriot Edition”
Small Womens
East Noble “Premiere Edition”
Northridge “Starlights”
Huntington North “Viking Volume”
Fairfield “Expressions”
Jay County “Just Treble”
The Race to State
With small groups clamoring for ISSMA scores, every single small group here is likely attempting to make ISSMA state finals. Some groups, like Northridge and Huntington North, have all but guaranteed their spots at state. For the others, this could be the most important competition before state if they wish to qualify.
Homestead’s Dominance
Despite a rough start to their season, Homestead has bounced back the past two weekends, beating Columbia City, Northrop, and Northridge at Huntington North and Churubusco in both mixed and womens divisions. However, their dominance could very well be challenged here by Huntington North, who has yet to face off against most of the top groups in Fort Wayne.
Predictions
Predictions represent the opinion of this contributor and not of HomeRoom Show Choir.
Mixed Finals
GC: Homestead “Class Royale” (BV)
1RU: Huntington North "Varsity Singers” (BC)
2RU: Northrop “Charisma”
3RU: Northridge “Northern Lights”
4RU: Jay County “Patriot Edition”
Homestead has really proven themselves the past two weekends; however, they have yet to go against Huntington North. At the same time, Northrop beat Huntington North at DeKalb. The top three spots really come down to who’s improved the most since the beginning of the season. Huntington North has demonstrated excellent visual power this year but dropped Best Vocals to Columbia City earlier in the season, leaving room for their show to grow.
Single-Gender Finals
GC: Homestead “Elite” (BV/BC)
1RU: Northrop “Allure”
2RU: Huntington North “Viking Volume”
Just like their mixed sister group, Homestead Elite has come out of the woodwork in the middle of the season, taking visuals from Westfield at Huntington North. They were joined by Northrop and Columbia City in beating Noblesville’s womens group at that very same competition. This competition is essentially a rematch for Northrop to try and prove themselves on an ISSMA rubric against Homestead’s ladies.
Small Mixed Prelims
1st: Huntington North “Varsity Singers” (BV/BC)
2nd: Northridge “Northern Lights”
3rd: Jay County “Patriot Edition”
4th: DeKalb “Classic Connection”
5th: Beech Grove “Jubilaires”
6th: Fairfield “Fusion”
7th: East Noble “Knight Rhythms”
8th: Burris Laboratory "Parliament Sound”
While Northridge and Huntington North are certainly the favorites to make finals, after them one spot remains. Huntington North's Midwest Showcase saw DeKalb drop in the placements a bit, with a Churubusco upset over Columbia City to boot and Jay County narrowly taking second in Huntington North’s medium division. To much surprise the following weekend, DeKalb found themselves behind Beech Grove at Avon. This trio of ensembles - DeKalb, Jay County, and Beech Grove - all should factor into the conversation for the last finals spot.
Small Womens Prelims
1st: Huntington North “Viking Volume”(BC)
2nd: Northridge “Starlights”(BV)
3rd: Jay County “Just Treble”
4th: East Noble “Premiere Edition”
5th: Fairfield “Expressions”
While Huntington North’s girls started their season with some speed bumps, last weekend at Jay County they managed to trade captions and maintain first place against Columbia City, a right placement at the right time with state looming. Like their mixed counterparts, Viking Volume is stronger visually than vocally, so if Northridge is to take the win and head to finals, their best avenue is likely vocals. Meanwhile, Jay County sits as a wildcard. Just Treble hasn’t yet the chance to prove themselves in Fort Wayne’s small division, so they sit as an unknown quantity heading into Columbia City.
Whatever the results wind up being, there will be plenty of ramifications for state and the offseason as some groups prepare for another week and some decompress after a busy schedule.