Comps of the Week: 1/17/26

By William Soquet, Editor-in-Chief

Ohio’s first large mixed gathering brings plenty of heat, the season’s only Kansas showdown has plenty of power, Linn-Mar turns into a Quad-State Showcase, and Gretna rises above as the best of Nebraska’s first competition weekend.

Beavercreek Midwest Show Choir Classic

Expanded Coverage: Major Showdown at Beavercreek Gets Ohio Show Choir into Gear 

The Lineup (choirs from Ohio unless noted)

Large Mixed: Hamilton “Prestige”, Hurricane “Red Hot” (WV), Lebanon “Singers”, Loveland “By Request”, Noblesville “NHS Singers” (IN), Piqua “The Company”, Solon “Music in Motion”

Small Mixed: Benjamin Logan “Standing Ovation”, Bishop Dwenger “Summit Sound” (IN), South Dearborn “Opening Knight” (IN), West Jessamine “Dually Noted” (KY)

Womens: Hurricane “Heat Wave” (WV), Loveland “Allure”, Noblesville “New Dimension” (IN), West Jessamine “Fortissima” (KY)

Solon and Hurricane both had near-perfect seasons in 2025, only dropping one competition between the two of them, but barring a tie, one will have to come out the victor in this contest. Noblesville surprised with a strong runner-up finish at this contest last year, and John Neubauer’s ensemble could easily turn heads and scores with its Indiana flair. Piqua has already won a competition this season, but this will be a much bigger field than what they saw at Van Buren. Loveland will likely play a factor as well, but how much of a factor they are is anyone’s guess. Whoever wins the womens division will likely be the sixth finalist, adding an extra motivator to what will already be a hotly-contested division. West Jessamine Fortissima also returns to the competition scene after a year away in 2025.

Blue Valley Tiger Takedown

The Lineup (choirs from Missouri unless noted)

5A: Broken Arrow “Tiger Rhythm” (OK), Carthage “Soundwave”, Johnston “Innovation” (IA), Neosho “Choraleers”, Rock Bridge “City Lights”, Webb City “Singers”

4A: Harrisonville “Music Makers”, Skutt Catholic “Vivace” (NE), St. Thomas Aquinas “Swingin’ Saints” (KS)

3A: Mt. Vernon “Vocal Motion”

Small Mixed: Atchison “Adrenaline” (KS), Clearwater “Blue Notes” (KS), Leavenworth “Show Choir” (KS), Seaman “Viking Voices” (KS)

Large Womens: Broken Arrow “Tiger Mystique” (OK), Carthage “Suite Sounds”, Johnston “Bella Voce” (IA), Neosho “Sugar & Spice”, Rock Bridge “Satin and Lace”, St. Thomas Aquinas “Saintsations” (KS), Webb City “Bella Voce”

Small Womens: Andover “Old School Edition”

Mens: Neosho “Phenomenon”, Webb City “DoMENance”

Prep: Harrisonville “Forefront”, Johnston “Synergy” (IA)

There’s so much going on here that it’s dizzying. National powers Johnston and Broken Arrow face off in 2026 after competing against each other at Urbandale in 2025. Southwest Missouri stalwarts Neosho, Webb City and Carthage kick off another season of tight action. Rock Bridge’s Satin and Lace is competing for the first time in years. Catholic school choirs make up the majority of the 4A division. A Friday night portion for smaller programs, both mixed and single-gender, offers a chance for building programs to compete against their own and will see Andover and Clearwater compete for the first time ever. A seven-choir womens division could be a competition all on its own. The sixth spot in finals could go to any one of about six different choirs. Whatever happens, it will be quite the precedent for the rest of the season.

Linn-Mar Supernova

Expanded Coverage: Linn-Mar Supernova Welcomes Geographically Diverse Field in 2026

The Lineup (choirs from Iowa unless noted)

Mixed: Cedar Rapids Kennedy “Happiness, Inc.”, Hastings “Riverside Company” (MN), Iowa City “4^th Avenue Jazz Company”, Papillion-La Vista “Free Spirit” (NE), Prairie “The Ambassadors”, Sioux Falls Washington “Classic Connection” (SD), Urbandale “Studio”, Waukee Northwest “Eos”

Womens: Cedar Rapids Kennedy “Protégé”, Hastings “Dynamic Edtion”, Iowa City “Charisma”, Papillion-La Vista “Heart and Soul”, Sioux Falls Washington “Stage Lights”, Urbandale “Affinity”

Prep: Papillion-La Vista “Monarchy”, Prairie “Focal Point“, Urbandale “Vitality“, Waukee Northwest “Aurora“

Even though Cedar Rapids Xavier has assumed the title of “first Cedar Rapids competition of the season”, Supernova remains the first large gathering of choirs in the area for the season. This year’s lineup features two groups that have already won a competition this season, as Iowa City was the only 4A group at Xavier last weekend and Waukee Northwest completed a two-caption win over Sparta and Onalaska at Holmen. Sioux Falls Washington, the only other choir with competition experience this season, notched a nice third at Sioux Falls Jefferson to put themselves in the finals conversation here. Of the debuting choirs, Urbandale is the most intriguing, as they underwent a director and choreographer change heading into this season and are a bit of an unknown quantity with their new leadership team. Any of the varsity groups are capable of making finals, but two good groups will be left out of the evening round – that’s just how it goes at tough contests like Supernova.

Wildcard: Gretna Primetime

Check HomeRoom social media channels every Monday afternoon/Tuesday morning for a poll to choose the wildcard Comp of the Week!

The Lineup (choirs from Nebraska unless noted)

Mixed: Council Bluffs Jefferson “Jefferson Edition” (IA), Elkhorn North “adrENaline”, Gretna East “Equinox”, Lincoln East “Express”, Millard North “Infinity”, Papillion-La Vista South “Titanium”, Westside “Amazing Technicolor Show Choir”

Womens: Millard North “Illumination”, Papillion-La Vista South ‘Revolution’, Papillion-La Vista South ‘Titan Radiance’, Westside ‘Amazing Technicolor Show Choir’

Prep: Elkhorn North “Encore”, Lincoln East “Elevation”, Millard North “Intensity”, Papillion-La Vista South “Titan Express”, Westside “Warrior Express”

The top of the card features one of the more unique storylines in show choir: a group that came out of almost nowhere to have a three-win season last year faces a group that is the most storied in Nebraska history, but is now with a new director. Fans across the country will be watching this one to see if Gretna East can keep the magic that it found last season and if ATSC still has what it takes under Andrew Jacobson. The rest of this competition reads like a lottery that has an equal chance of putting any choir third through sixth. Lincoln East had a successful 2025, but the program is downsizing from three groups to two for this season. On the flip side, Papio South, another group with a sole win in 2025, has now grown its program to a whopping four choirs, the largest current program in the Cornhusker State. Millard North ran a very hard competition schedule last season, and they are right back in the thick of it this season. Elkhorn North came on strong at the end of 2025 and will need to carry that momentum to be competitive at this competition.

All of the weekend’s top results will be covered in Comps of the Week Recap, which will be published early next week!