Comps of the Week Recap: 1/17/26

By William Soquet, Editor-in-Chief

A no-caption win, a one-caption win, a two-caption win and a three-caption sweep all find their way into the recap this week.

Beavercreek Midwest Show Choir Classic

Final Results

GC: Solon “Music in Motion”

1RU: Noblesville “NHS Singers” (BV)

2RU: Loveland “By Request” (BC/BB)

3RU: Piqua “The Company”

4RU: Hurricane “Red Hot”

5RU: Loveland “Allure”

Solon is still on top of the stack of Ohio show choirs, claiming its sixth consecutive win against a stout collection of competitors. While MIM did take captions for Best Crew, Best Costumes and Best Soloist, they did not take any of the three major captions, meaning that the competition was incredibly tight. Noblesville took second at Beavercreek for the second season in a row, but this time took Best Vocals, showcasing the depth of vocals that Indiana choirs are known for. Loveland needed a good result to kickstart a new trend after a down season in 2025, and they did just that. By Request notched a very respectable podium as well as two of the three major caption awards, and Allure won the womens division and made it to finals over Hamilton and Lebanon. Piqua backed up a win at Van Buren with a fourth, and Hurricane placed fifth, a surprise for many. It was the first time Hurricane finished off the podium since Beavercreek in 2017, a whopping nine years ago. That day, they were fourth and lost Loveland By Request, Medina Encore Entertainment Company and Loveland Allure.

Blue Valley Tiger Takedown

Final Results

GC: Johnston “Innovation” (BV/BC/BB)

1RU: Broken Arrow “Tiger Rhythm”

2RU: Neosho “Choraleers”

3RU: Johnston “Synergy”

4RU: Carthage “Soundwave”

5RU: Webb City “Singers”

If there was any doubt as to where Johnston stood after finishing last season very near the top of the pile in the country, that doubt is gone. Inno cleaned out Broken Arrow, a national powerhouse in its own right, in a commanding sweep that was never in question. Tiger Rhythm kicked off their more “local” season this year (as much as a Tulsa choir can have) with a solid runner-up while clearing the rest of the field. Despite a choreographer change over the offseason, Neosho looks just as formidable as always, and the Choraleers scored a decisive podium placement to be the top Missouri choir on the board and stay in front of regional contenders Carthage and Webb City, who were also in attendance. Johnston Synergy notched its tenth finals appearance since the pandemic, which is an insane number for a prep group. Carthage took a good step forward as a program, beating Webb City for the first time since late January of 2023. They will face off again at Nevada on Feb. 21 in what should be another close battle.

Linn-Mar Supernova

Final Results

GC: Waukee Northwest “Eos” (BC)

1RU: Urbandale “Studio” (BV)

2RU: Iowa City “4^th Avenue Jazz Company”

3RU: Hastings “Riverside Company”

4RU: Cedar Rapids Kennedy “Happiness, Inc.” (BB)

5RU: Prairie “The Ambassadors”

Waukee Northwest continues to step up most when the stakes are highest. After beating Johnston for the win at this very competition last season, Eos turned away Urbandale and a host of other competitors to take its second win of the season in as many weeks. Studio began its new era under Adam Brown and Kevin Chase without really missing a beat, as they took Best Vocals and were a worthy runner-up to Eos. Iowa City was one of the breakout groups of this competition. On the back of a win the previous weekend at Xavier, 4AJC leapfrogged Cedar Rapids Kennedy to land on the podium here, one of their most competitive results in recent memory. Two long finals streaks were snapped at this event: Papillion-La Vista Free Spirit’s 32-competition finals streak, which dated back to the Lincoln East Spartan Spectacular on January 27, 2018, came to an end; Sioux Falls Washington Classic Connection’s 20-competition finals streak, which dated back to the Elkhorn South Crystal Cup on February 15, 2020, also ended.

Wildcard: Gretna Primetime

Final Results

GC: Gretna East “Equinox” (BV/BC)

1RU: Millard North “Infinity” (BB)

2RU: Westside “Amazing Technicolor Show Choir”

3RU: Papillion-La Vista South “Titanium”

4RU: Elkhorn North “adrENaline”

5RU: Lincoln East “Express”

Gretna East found the light last year, garnering lots of success with their lightbulb-themed show, and the light is staying on this season as Equinox cleared the field to win Primetime for the second consecutive season. Millard North’s runner-up finish here is their best result since February 17, 2024, as they welcome everyone to a new millennium and a new Infinity with their Y2K show. ATSC rounded out the podium in their first competition under the direction of Andrew Jacobson. Right on their heels was Papio South, showing that two of Nebraska’s blue blood groups are still close to each other in performance level. Elkhorn North was fifth, which is an improvement on the last time they attended Primetime in 2024. Rounding out the finals was Lincoln East. The program is undergoing a bit of a shift right now as Standing Bear claims a good chunk of its former attendance area, but Express is still a very capable choir and should factor into events throughout the season.

Despite the threat of weather derailing some of the upcoming weekend’s plans, look for Comps of the Week for the weekend of Jan. 24 to be posted soon!