We are now two weekends into show choir season, which basically means that we’re in the thick of it, right? With a number of shakeups at both the top and bottom of finals fields throughout the country, last weekend was an eventful one in the world of show choir.
Beavercreek Midwest Show Choir Classic
Final Results
GC: Piqua “The Company” (BV, BB, Female Soloist: Kiersten Shaneyfelt)
1RU: Hurricane “Red Hot” (BC, Show Design)
2RU: Loveland “By Request”
3RU: Hurricane “Heat Wave”
4RU: Loveland “Allure”
5RU: Marion Harding “Harding Singers”
Piqua. That’s it. That’s the analysis. Piqua brought everything and then some to the stage, with longtime observers going crazy over a novelty number that parodied just about every trend that came and went in 2010s show choir (Wings, anybody?). There’s a chance that third place for By Request becomes the lowest placement they have all season, depending on how competitive Fairfield’s Crystal Classic is. The womens groups from both Hurricane and Loveland performed admirably well to place 3RU and 4RU, but one of the real breakouts of this competition is Marion Harding. Following a 2022 where they missed finals at Beavercreek and were the lowest-scoring group in the large mixed division, Harding Singers dropped down to small mixed and promptly punched a ticket to finals, winning the division en route to that. Following them in small mixed were South Dearborn and Herbert Hoover, who are no slouches themselves.
Linn-Mar Supernova
Final Results
GC: Ankeny Centennial “Spectrum” (BV)
1RU: Prairie “The Ambassadors” (BC)
2RU: Ankeny Centennial “Eternal Rush”
3RU: Benton Community “Celebration Co.”
4RU: Iowa City “4th Avenue Jazz Company”
5RU: Prairie “Focal Point”
Ankeny Centennial winding up on top here? Not a surprise. Prairie snatching a caption from them? Surprise. Two prep groups making finals? Surprise. A prep group placing on the podium? Surprise. It is clear to even the untrained eye that both Ankeny Centennial and Prairie showed up to play this year. Not only did their varsity groups split the captions, but their prep groups did incredibly well, with Focal Point knocking The Class Act from Logan out of finals. Benton Community had a sneaky fourth-place finish, marking a nice rebound from a Des Moines Christian contest where they did not make finals. While Iowa City’s placement may look disappointing on paper, 4AJC will be at Anamosa in two weeks’ time where there is less of a crowded 4A field to try and make waves in.
Mt. Zion Midwest Invitational
Final Results
GC: Troy Buchanan “Express” (BV, BC)
1RU: Wheaton Warrenville South “The Classics” (BB)
2RU: Glenwood “Titan Fever”
3RU: Omaha South “The Ambassadors”
4RU: Alan B. Shepard “Nova”
5RU: Wheaton Warrenville South “Esprit”
Wow, there’s a lot going on here! At the top, Troy manages to snap a WWS win streak that dated back to before the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, they took both major captions in the process. There are three ways to look at this: the ‘WWS is dead’ view, the ‘Troy is established as a national power’ view, and the ‘it wouldn’t happen next week’ view. The answer likely lies somewhere in the middle. Troy has been knocking on the door of being a national contender for a few years now, and perhaps this is its jumping-off point. WWS finished as low as fourth during the 2020 season, so perhaps their winning streak was destined to end at some point. While the two groups won’t meet again this season, it’s a nice hypothetical thought to carry. Omaha South rides back into the Nebraska circuit with a very solid 3RU, which at this caliber of a competition is something to be proud of. The last two finals groups moved up via the lower divisions – WWS Esprit out of the womens division, as some expected, and Alan B. Shepard out of the prep division. It was Nova’s first prep division win since 2019 and first finals appearance 2015 at Watseka. One notable name on the outside of finals was Decatur Elite Energy, who missed in their first competition under the direction of Davion Williams. Columbus East also missed finals after making it at MTZ in 2022.
Onalaska Show Choir Classic
Final Results
GC: Bemidji “Vocalmotive” (BC, BB)
1RU: La Crosse Central “Grand Central Station”
2RU: Sauk Prairie “Executive Session”
3RU: Cedar Rapids Jefferson “West Side Delegation”
4RU: Monona Grove “Silver Connection”
5RU: Sparta “Upstage Adrenaline”
In the final year of Chris Fettig bringing a group to the competition that sparked the Bemidji program, they bring home a considerable amount of hardware with a win and two strong caption awards. La Crosse Central has solidly put itself as a group to watch in the Midwest, as they will not compete again in their home state of Wisconsin this year. Sauk Prairie goes from fifth at Viterbo to best vocals at Onalaska, with their trajectory on the rise. Their womens group, YTBN, also won their respective division. Despite a director change, WSD comes up right in the middle of finals along with Monona Grove. Rounding out the finals field is Sparta, who got there in what a group Instagram post called “our first official comp in open class”. They beat out Neenah and North St. Paul, who both made finals at Colby last week.
With even more choirs entering competition season this upcoming weekend, check back on Wednesday for the deepest edition of Comps of the Week so far this season!
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