Fort Wayne Midseason Rankings (2/19/26)
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By AJ Prentice, Fort Wayne contributor
3 weeks into Fort Wayne’s competition season, every Fort Wayne group has performed their show at least once. Just about every single group has shown massive improvements this season compared to last season and will surely go on to achieve even higher levels of success as the season progresses.
2026 Midseason Mixed Rankings
Carroll “Magic”
Huntington North “Varsity Singers”
Northrop “Charisma”
Northridge “Northern Lights”
Homestead “Class Royale”
Columbia City “City Heat”
DeKalb “Classic Connection"
Jay County “Patriot Edition”
Churubusco “New Era”
Fairfield "Fusion"
Top Large Group: Carroll “Magic”
Top Small Group: Columbia City “City Heat”
Mixed News & Notes:
Carroll “Magic”
Maintaining their hold on Fort Wayne’s top spot, Magic started their season with a sweep at Northrop, taking both major captions from Ohio’s ETC “All Americans”. Despite missing finals at the incredibly stacked Chesterton Trojan Classic, they have so far held strong against other Fort Wayne groups.
Huntington North “Varsity Singers”
Huntington North “Varsity Singers”, who will be considered a large group as it relates to Fort Wayne show choirs, gave us one of the most impressive season in 2024, tying Findlay “First Edition” for best visuals, sweeping against Avon “Accents”, and sweeping again at ISSMA Small Finals. However, in 2025, while they still put on a quality show that placed 2nd at ISSMA State, they did not achieve the same levels of success. This year at homestead, while they didn’t make finals, they brought their beautiful vocals and energetic choreography to the stage, announcing to the world that 2024 was no fluke. This weekend at DeKalb “Varsity Singers” will have to prove their strength to judges in a rematch with Findlay “First Edition”, a challenge from Northrop “Charisma”, and a whole crowd of small mixed underdogs.
Northrop “Charisma”
Another group on the upswing, Charisma established themselves as a local power, beating Homestead “Class Royale” for the first time since 2018. This weekend at DeKalb however they have the chance to take on Huntington North “Varsity Singers” and potentially move up in the rankings.
Northridge “Northern Lights”
Northridge, who will also be considered large in Fort Wayne, started their season this weekend at Homestead. While they missed finals, they didn’t go down without a fight, putting on an excellent show. This year Northridge intends on returning to ISSMA State finals, where they will compete with Huntington North and much of Fort Wayne’s small division. Before state they will also have the opportunity to compete with many of the top groups to solidify or improve their ranking.
Homestead “Class Royale”
Homestead has only competed once this year at Southmont, however as hosts they did an exhibition performance at their own “Homestead Classic Showcase”. This was the first most people from Fort Wayne saw of them this season. They’ll be competing at Chesterton next weekend where they’ll be competing for one of four Finalist spots.
Columbia City “City Heat”
The notoriously small but mighty City Heat started their season off strong at Carroll, placing third in small mixed but ahead of all the Fort Wayne small groups, bested only by Whiteland "Rhythm Masters” from the Indy circuit, and Buckeye Valley “Visions” from Ohio. Once again at Homestead, City Heat outperformed the other Fort Wayne groups, placing 3rd in prelims out of 12 groups, and 4th of 6 finalists. Despite being small for even the small division, City Heat leads the pack as the top small mixed choir in Fort Wayne. This weekend, with the intent to qualify for state, City Heat will compete in their one and only ISSMA qualifier at DeKalb.
DeKalb “Classic Connection”
2025 solidified Classic Connection as a real competitor in the small mixed division winning small mixed Grand Champion at Ball State and achieving 3rd runner up at ISSMA state. Usually known for a rich choral sound, DeKalb has stepped up a notch this year, with choreographer Nikki Prichard giving them their best choreography yet.
Jay County “Patriot Edition”
Jay County, the youngest program in the top 10, is particularly difficult to rank. 2 of the three times Jay County has competed against DeKalb, Jay County has come out on top. However if you factor in prelims, they’re 2-2 with DeKalb. Additionally, at homestead they missed finals by a single point, however they beat busco at Northrop. It’s fair to say that Jay County, Busco, and DeKalb are on fairly even ground this season, and will likely trade places multiple times over the season.
Churubusco “New Era”
If there’s one thing Churubusco is good at, it's consistency. This came to their advantage last year where they led the pack as the top small group in Fort Wayne, however this year is different, while the other small groups stepped it up, New Era has stayed consistent and balanced. So far this has resulted in them beating and losing to DeKalb and Jay County, putting the three on relatively equal footing.
Fairfield “Fusion”
Fusion and Huntington North are certainly in a competition for most improved choir since last year. Despite a dazzling choral sound Fairfield did not make finals at Homestead, however they’ll have a good shot at redeeming themselves this weekend at DeKalb
2026 Midseason Unisex Rankings
Carroll “Select Sound” (No Change)
Northridge “Starlights” (NC)
Northrop “Allure” (-1)
Huntington North “Viking Volume” (-2)
Homestead “Elite” (+2)
Columbia City “City Lights” (+2)
Jay County “Just Treble” (+2)
East Noble “Premiere Edition” (NC)
Top Large Group: Carroll “Select Sound”
Top Small Group: Columbia City “City Lights”
Unisex News & Notes:
Carroll “Select Sound”
For the third year in a row Select Sound has reached the top spot. Please note the first dedicated Fort Wayne ranking was in 2024. Aside from briefly swapping places with Huntington North “Viking Volume” a few times, Select Sound has reigned dominant over the Fort Wayne small division and will likely continue too for a while.
Northridge “Starlights”
Northridge started their season this year at Homestead. Despite missing finals, they put on a fantastic show, especially given the competition. Starlights will return to competition at Huntington North, where they’ll be fighting for one of three spots in finals.
Northrop “Allure”
The most improved choir in unisex is certainly Allure. For the past five years Allure has seen defeat by the hands of Norwell, Columbia City, Jay County, and more. But this year Allure has improved tenfold, positioning themselves as real competition in the unisex division. Allure hasn’t directly competed against anyone from Fort Wayne other than Carroll so far, but will be competing at DeKalb this weekend where they’ll have to prove their strength against Northridge, Huntington North, and Columbia City.
Huntington North “Viking Volume”
In a similar boat as their mixed counterpart, Varsity Singers, Viking Volume had a tremendous 2024 season followed by a less successful 2025 season. However where they differ from Varsity Singers is that this year their show has a lot more kinks to work out. This weekend at DeKalb they’ll have a chance to show off their ability to improve and grow, and will absolutely make stiff competition for the other competing choirs.
Homestead “Elite”
With their only competition so far being against top tier Indy schools, Elite has yet to really show off what they’re capable of. Their next competition is similarly difficult, and will take place at Northridge where 4 unisex groups will be competing for 3 finalist spots. Elite will have to beat Chesterton “Sound Waves”, Carroll “Select Sound”, or shock the show choir world by beating Carmel “Accents”.
Columbia City “City Lights”
Tiny and dangerous, just like their mixed counterparts, City Lights claims the top spot amongst the small groups in unisex. With a grand champion win at Homestead and a close first runner up at Carroll, City Lights is sure to have another strong season. This weekend they’ll compete at DeKalb where their 17 ladies will be competing in the very same division as Northridge, Huntington North, and Northrop. Despite this, City Lights historically has done very well in this competition, placing 1st runner up every year since 2022, and even taking best vocals from Northridge in 2023.
Jay County “Just Treble”
Based on last year's placements you’d be forgiven for believing Just Treble was going to dominate small unisex once again, however with all the groups stepping up their game this year, Just Treble struggles to find the same success this year. While they may be ranked below Columbia City, Just Treble still serves as a real contender in the small unisex division.
East Noble “Premiere Edition”
Despite being under new direction for the second year in a row, Premiere Edition still finds themselves making the unisex rankings, putting this group’s resilience and flexibility on full display. While they have yet to make finals, it’s still early. Historically Premiere Edition has been a late blooming group, going all out towards the end of their season, even placing 1st runner up at ISSMA state finals in 2024, and 3rd runner up in 2025.
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