Comps of the Week Recap: 3/28/26

By William Soquet, Editor-in-Chief

Los Alamitos takes a two-caption win at HOA Orlando, Marysville and Northwest Rankin continue their hot streaks, and Carlsbad takes the win at Cypress from the top rope.

Brandon Show Choir ELITE

Overall Top Five

1^st) Northwest Rankin “The Ambassadors” (BV/BC)

2^nd) Jackson Academy “Encore”

3^rd) Northeast Jones “Gold Horizons”

4^th) South Jones “Company”

5^th) Northwest Rankin “The Allure”

Northwest Rankin held serve to triumph at ELITE to close its season. The Ambassadors won two in a row to end Toney Keeler’s time as director of the ensemble, and have also won two years in a row at ELITE, becoming the first multi-time winner in event history. Behind them, JA was runner-up to Northwest for the second season in a row at Brandon. It was the highest Encore placed all season. Northeast Jones capped off a season in large mixed with an overall podium, their fourth top-three finish of the season. South Jones, who last competed in February, fell right in line, placing behind the three large mixed groups and ahead of everyone else. The Allure got one back on their brother group The Ambition, winning the single-gender division and scoring the last spot in the overall top five. Small mixed saw Clinton Christian take its third division win of the year, outscoring Pisgah, Pass Christian and Morton.

Cypress Star Reflections

Advanced Results

1^st) Carlsbad “Sound Express” (Show)

2^nd) Hart “Collective Harts” (Music)

3^rd) Pacifica “Encore”

4^th) Brea Olinda “Masquerade”

Intermediate Mixed Winner: John Burroughs “Sound Waves” (Music/Show)

Novice Mixed Winner: Esperanza “Reverberation”

In an advanced division that could’ve gone any of the four ways, an upstart Carlsbad outfit rode visuals to the win. It is Carlsbad’s second overall grand championship and first since 2019, when Sound Express was an advanced mixed mainstay and on the doorstep of becoming a Tier 1 choir. In contrast, this is Carlsbad’s first advanced mixed competition of the season, as they competed in intermediate at Esperanza. Hart showed out in second, taking its first music caption since Burbank in 2023. It is a quality result for a group that will lose director Sarah Anders at season’s end. Pacifica continues its first season in advanced by coming home just behind the captions; Encore will make a foray into Central Daylight Time in two weeks when they compete at the FAME National Finals in Missouri. Novice mixed has been a highlight of western show choir this season and continued to be so at Star Reflections. A week after missing the top five in division at Hart, Esperanza rebounded for its second division win of the season. Reverberation grabbed no captions, as showmanship went to Norco in second and musicianship went to John A. Rowland in third.

Heart of America Orlando

Final Results

GC: Los Alamitos “Sound FX” (BV/BC)

1RU: Johnston “Innovation”

2RU: Westside “Amazing Technicolor Show Choir” (BB)

3RU: Mt. Zion “Swingsations”

4RU: Olentangy “Keynotes”

Los Alamitos scored a signature win in Florida, outlasting a loaded field of national competitors to take home the top spot. California’s Big Three went undefeated in national competition this year, with John Burroughs fending off Wheaton North at Wheaton Warrenville South and Burbank beating Fishers at Marysville. Sound FX broke into the win column for the first time this year, preserving a win streak that is approaching a quarter century’s worth of full-length seasons. Johnston closes its season with losses to only Linn-Mar and Los Al. Westside jumped from fourth in prelims to third in finals and took band from Johnston for the second time this season, and Mt. Zion was a bona fide contender as well. Both groups closed seasons under new direction in a strong manner, quashing any doubts about the future of either program. Olentangy made the jump from a loaded ten-choir prelims field to the five-choir finals, putting a bow on a strong season that included its first win since 2022. Tarpon Springs swept Rosa Scott in open mixed, and Los Alamitos Soundtrax took a two-caption win in womens over Mt. Zion Les Femmes, Olentangy She-Notes and Westside Simply Irresistible.

Waltham Eastern Show Choir Festival

The Results

Large Mixed: 1^st) Marysville “Swingers Unlimited” (BV/BC/BB) 2^nd) Tantasqua “ENCORE!” 3^rd) Lowell “Sound Impressions”

Small Mixed: 1^st) Natick “West Street Singers” (BV/BC) 2^nd) Somerset Berkley “Electrify” (BB) 3^rd) Oliver Ames “Panache”

Womens: 1st) Marysville “Swingers Select” (BV/BC/BB) 2^nd) Somerset Berkley “Amplify” 3^rd) Tantasqua “Applause”

After traveling to California at the end of the 2025 season, Marysville traveled to the East Coast at the end of the 2026 season and came away with plenty of hardware, taking two division wins, six major captions, six miscellaneous captions and two gold medals. Unlimited won five straight competitions to finish off the season, taking the Best Choreography caption in all of them. Tantasqua scored its best placement of the year and its first gold medal of the season, a sign of growth throughout the year for that show. In small mixed, Natick claimed its first division win of the season, bringing its total up to nine throughout the group’s five-year competitive history. Somerset Berkley was runner-up in its second season as a small group, a good bit of progress as the program looks to get its feet under it. Oliver Ames was the final podium finisher in the nine-group small mixed division, beating out Dartmouth, Bishop Hendricken, Leominster, Musselman, Boston Latin and Penn Wood.

There are no competitions this upcoming week as show choir takes a pause to observe the Easter holiday. Comps of the Week will be back ahead of the April 11 competitions, previewing the John Burroughs Music Showcase and the FAME National Finals.

Editor's Note: This post has been updated to reflect the correct John Burroughs group that competed at Cypress. We regret the confusion this has caused.