Comps of the Week Recap: 1/24/26

By William Soquet, Editor-in-Chief

Linn-Mar starts their competition slate off with a sweep, Urbandale shows that they haven’t missed a beat, De Pere goes back-to-back to start 2026 and ATSC shows vintage form at Millard West.

Gretna East Echoes of the East

Final Results

GC: Linn-Mar “10^th Street Edition” (BV/BC/BB)

1RU: Gretna “Revolution”

2RU: Elkhorn North “adrENaline”

3RU: Elkhorn South “Blackout”

4RU: Millard North “Infinity”

5RU: Papillion-La Vista “Free Spirit”

The Grand Hotel opened its first franchise outside of the Cedar Rapids area, as Linn-Mar took its murder mystery show on the road to Nebraska and continued to show why they are in a league of their own after the pandemic. 10^th Street dispatched Gretna, a very formidable group, to take the top spot. Revolution continues to impress in its own right, as being the best Nebraska group at this competition is no small feat. Perhaps the breakout group of the competition was Elkhorn North. adrENaline snuck under the radar a little bit with a 2025 season that included its first two wins as a program and an unofficial crowning of “best Elkhorn show choir” after outrunning Elkhorn South and Elkhorn at Grand Island. It appears as though all three Elkhorns have gotten better this season, as the Elkhorns have combined for six finals appearances across the first two weeks of the season. Elkhorn North also jumped Millard North, as the two were fifth and second respectively at Gretna Primetime. Infinity placed fifth here, surely nipping at the heels of the choirs directly in front of them. A late withdrawal from Lincoln East due to sickness left only six groups in the open class, and Papio was there to take the finals spot as a bounce-back after missing finals at Waukee on Jan. 17.

Johnston Showzam!

Final Results

GC: Urbandale “Studio” (BV/BC)

1RU: Prairie “The Ambassadors” (BB)

2RU: Waukee “Millennium”

3RU: Sioux Falls Roosevelt “Executive Suite”

4RU: Indianola “Side One”

5RU: Norwalk “Sound Revolution”

In what was billed as an exciting matchup between two Des Moines powerhouses, the action delivered as advertised and a third contender snuck into the ring. At the end of the night, Urbandale took home its first Grand Championship of Adam Brown’s tenure while also taking its second Best Choreography award of the season. Studio has clearly not dropped anything in the transition from the team of Ted Brimeyer/Stephen Todd to the team of Adam Brown/Kevin Chase. Waukee delivered an intense show as well, hitting the end of a three-week run on stage that included hosting their own competition, Starstuck. Urbandale and Waukee will see each other in two weeks’ time at Waukee Northwest, where Ankeny Centennial will also bring multiple potent groups. Prairie entered as the outsider, traveling from Cedar Rapids, but showed up and showed out, squeezing right in the middle of the two groups that were stealing most of the limelight. The Ambassadors will now play host to several of eastern Iowa’s best groups this upcoming weekend. Sioux Falls Roosevelt, another group that will host this upcoming weekend, outplaced two solid choirs, boding well for their future escapades in South Dakota. Indianola and Norwalk, two choirs that seem like they’ve been competing against each other quite a bit recently, remain tight; they placed next to each other at Des Moines Christian and did so again here.

Milton Rock the Rock

Final Results

GC: De Pere “Jam Session” (BV/BC/BB)

1RU: Waconia “Power Company”

2RU: Sauk Prairie “Executive Session”

3RU: Monona Grove “Silver Connection”

4RU: Waubonsie Valley “Sound Check”

5RU: Totino-Grace “Company of Singers”

A true rematch from New London yielded a slightly different result, as De Pere went from claiming two captions and the win to claiming three captions and the win. Jam Session carried the flag for the Badger State on a day in which two of the three competitions in-state were won by Minnesota outfits, and Waconia was close to making that three-for-three. Sauk Prairie rounded out its January run of competitions with a very nice podium finish; it is Exec’s first podium at Milton since 2022. Their “Come From Away” show will be a formidable contender at Fort Atkinson, where they will see Davenport North and Glenwood. Monona Grove and its numbers-themed production flew to fourth here, above two capable out-of-state contenders. Silver Connection has set itself up well to potentially contend for a win at De Pere in two weeks. Waubonsie Valley outpaced fellow Illinois contender Eisenhower for a spot in finals and was fifth, a solid building block as they head into a challenging schedule. Totino-Grace entered Milton as a wildcard, but Company of Singers snagged a solid sixth, making the most of each opportunity in a four-competition season this year.

Wildcard: Millard West Music Lives

Final Results

GC: Westside “Amazing Technicolor Show Choir” (BV/BC/BB)

1RU: Papillion-La Vista South “Titanium”

2RU: Omaha South “The Ambassadors”

3RU: Millard South “South on Stage”

4RU: Sioux Falls Jefferson “Legacy”

5RU: Westside “Simply Irresistible”

A week after placing third at Gretna, ATSC found itself at a much more familiar place at Millard West – the top of the podium. Much like Urbandale, Westside claimed its first win under the direction of Andrew Jacobson, signaling that the program is not going anywhere. The talent is still well and thriving, as ATSC also claimed both of the Best Soloist awards that were up for grabs and one of the Best Performer awards. Papio South was one spot away from Westside at Gretna and was also one spot away here; they will face Waukee Northwest, Ankeny, La Crosse, Southeast Polk and others at Ankeny Centennial this weekend. Third through fifth was tight as could be. Legacy claimed third in the daytime round, but both Omaha South and Millard South jumped ahead in finals, creating a 2-3-4 straight for schools with South in the name. This is The Ambassadors’ tenth podium finish across the past four seasons, a good milestone to eclipse for the group. South on Stage, with new director Edgar Estrada, performed admirably as well, setting the stage for a solid season this year. Simply Irresistible was a surprising third in division at Gretna but stormed back to win the division here and transfer into finals. SI has now made at least one overall finals round in each of the last seven competitive seasons, an incredible streak for a group that has long been one of the standard bearers in its class.

As some groups head into the midportion of their seasons and others continue to get started, Comps of the Week will feature an ever-more-diverse lineup in the near future. The next edition will be featured on the blog late in the week.