Comps of the Week: 2/14/26

By William Soquet, Editor-in-Chief

Several circuits coalesce around big events, as Indianapolis gathers at Center Grove, Mississippi gathers at Jackson Prep, Nebraska gathers at Omaha South and Minnesota gathers at Hastings.

Center Grove Best of the Midwest

The Lineup (groups from Indiana unless noted)

Large Mixed: Fishers “Electrum”, Franklin Central “FC Singers”, North Central “Counterpoints”, Oak Mountain (AL) “Singers”

Small Mixed: Batesville “Singers”, Franklin Central “Encores”, Greenfield-Central “Legacy”, New Palestine “Crimson Heat”, Roncalli “Royal Rhapsody”, Shelbyville “Synergy”, Winfield (WV) “General Admission”

Large Womens: Fishers “Sound”, Franklin Central “High Voltage”, North Central “Descants”, Oak Mountain (AL) “The Muses”

Small Womens: Cathedral “Irish Adrenaline”, Fishers “Accents”, Franklin Central “Flight”, New Palestine “Diamond Sensations”, North Central “Accents”, Winfield (WV) “Emerald Elegance”

Expanded Coverage: Top Indy groups take on Southern Powerhouse at Best of the Midwest

All four of these large mixed groups placed second at their last competition, and each would love nothing more than to take a win at BOM. Franklin Central was second to Carmel at a hotly-contested Chesterton Trojan Classic last week, and outpacing North Central would mean that the traditional Big Three is still standing. North Central was second to Center Grove and defeated Zionsville at Pike last weekend. With a win, Counterpoints would firmly put last season’s turbulence behind them and force observers to respect them as a bona fide A+-tier choir alongside Carmel, CG, and FC. Oak Mountain was second to Clinton last weekend and became the first group to take the Overall Effect caption from Clinton since before the pandemic. Singers will need to execute their best show to take a win, but winning here would be a big pickup for the Southern scene as a whole. Fishers lost to Lafayette Jefferson in a split-caption decision last weekend; while a win would be a massive upset for Electrum, the Indianapolis scene is tight enough that it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility. Large womens will feature an equally-tight battle, and small mixed features a rematch of a Roncalli-New Palestine pairing that resulted in a caption split last weekend.

Jackson Prep Show Choir Masters

The Lineup (groups from Mississippi unless noted)

Expanded Coverage: Magnolia State Showdowns Take Over Another Weekend of Southern Show Choir

Extra-Large: Brandon “Brio”, Clinton “Attaché”, Madison Central “Reveille”, Northwest Rankin “The Ambassadors”

Large: Northeast Jones “Gold Horizons”

Middle: Rosa Scott “Radiance”

Small: Clinton Christian “Extreme”, Morton “One A’Chord”, Oxford “Sound” (AL), Pisgah “Innergy”

Single-Gender: Brandon “Bellas”, Northwest Rankin “The Allure”, Northwest Rankin “The Ambition”, Tupelo “Synergy”

Prep shifted their date back to the middle of February from late January, and the schedule change has paid immediate dividends, going from six high school groups last year to 14 this year. Headlining this year’s cast is Clinton, who is making its first appearance at Masters. Attaché lost a major Southern caption last weekend for the first time since 2020, and logic says they will be determined to make sure that it won’t happen again. Brandon has looked stronger this season than last season and will be a prime contender to take the second spot. Tupelo is still riding high from a sweep of Grenada, and Synergy will test its show against several other high-caliber groups here. Against seemingly all odds, none of Madison Central, Northeast Jones or Northwest Rankin have competed against each other this season. All three have had highs and lows (even if the lows are seeing competitions get cancelled). These three will likely be competing for the last two spots in a five-group finals field, with one left out. In small mixed, Oxford will travel to Mississippi for the second time this season, running up against local stalwart Pisgah.

South Omaha Classic

The Lineup (all groups from Nebraksa)

Mixed: Grand Island “Ultimate Image”, Lincoln East “Express”, Millard North “Infinity”, Millard West “West in the Groove”, Papillion-La Vista “Free Spirit”, Papillion-La Vista South “Titanium”, Westside “Amazing Technicolor Show Choir”

Womens: Millard North “Illumination”, Millard West “Uptown”, Papillion-La Vista South “Revolution”, Papillion-La Vista South “Titan Radiance”, Westside “Simply Irresistible”

Prep: Buena Vista “L Street Singers”, Grand Island “Future Image”, Millard North “Intensity”, Millard North “Swing Cats”, Papillion-La Vista South “Titan Express”, Westside “Warrior Express”

While a snowstorm hit Omaha Thursday night, this competition appears to be all systems go for a classic drop-down, drag-out Nebraska battle. The blue-blood trio of Westside, Millard West and Papio South leads this one. Westside and Papio South are both immediately coming off third-place finishes, ATSC at Urbandale and Titanium at Elkhorn South. WIG hasn’t competed since Feb. 7, but that was a sterling second-place finish to Gretna. All three groups are well within shouting distance of each other and have legitimate stakes to the win here. Lincoln East has only competed twice so far this season, which seems a bit behind the region norm, but Express is most recently coming off a win over Elkhorn South at Lincoln Southwest and is entering a three-week swing that includes appearances at Norris and Lewis Central to round out its season. Millard North is also on the come-up, having most recently snatched second at Waconia on Feb. 14. With results in Nebraska seemingly changing by the week, there’s no telling for sure how the top five will pan out. The sixth spot could go to any number of groups, including Grand Island, Papio Free Spirit, or any of the womens trio of Illumination, Uptown and SI, which will be a fierce battle in the morning.

Wildcard: Hastings Swingin’ on the River

The Lineup (groups from Minnesota unless noted)

Mixed: Bemidji “Vocalmotive”, Bloomington Jefferson “Jefferson Connection”, Bloomington Kennedy “Rhythm in Gold”, North St. Paul “Northern Lights”, South St. Paul “SouthSide Sensation”, Waconia “Power Company”, West Salem (WI) “Singsations”

Prep: Aspire “Momentum”, Bemidji “La Voce Ballo”, Bloomington Jefferson “Jefferson Connection”, New Prague “Emotion”, Waconia “The Current”, West Salem (WI) “Vivace”

This isn’t the biggest lineup that Swingin’ on the River has ever had, but there’s still plenty to go around. The favorites heading in are Bloomington Kennedy and Waconia; although they have competed at each other’s competitions, they haven’t faced each other yet this season. This is an interesting matchup as well for the added reason that these two ensembles will see each other next weekend in Sioux Falls. RIG has two wins so far this season and PoCo one, meaning both choirs know what it takes to garner the biggest prize of the day. Bemidji and Bloomington Jefferson present an intriguing matchup for the third and fourth spots. These choirs faced each other at Bloomington Kennedy, with Jefferson placing third and Bemidji fifth; however, the Minnesota circuit is always a tight one, and a swap in placements cannot be ruled out here. North St. Paul, in its second season under Amy Johnson’s direction, is also a solid finals contender here. The sixth finals spot depends on whether prep groups are eligible for finals. If not, South St. Paul and West Salem will vie for the spot; if prep groups can make it, a wide-open prep field can challenge for the spot.

Comps of the Week Recap will cover all of the biggest storylines early next week after all of the weekend’s festivities have concluded.