Hersey Shakes Things Up, Wheaton Looms: Illinois Show Choir Rankings 3/13/26
- 6 hours ago
- 5 min read
By Dylan Moss, Illinois contributor
This is the fifth edition of HomeRoom’s poll rankings of Illinois for the 2026 season, covering and considering results from the week of Mar. 7 and earlier. Three regional experts considered 39 groups and ranked 20 across three divisions.
Championship Mixed
Wheaton North “Flight” (2 first-place votes, no change)
Mt. Zion “Swingsations” (1 first-place vote, NC)
Dwight D. Eisenhower “Express” (+1)
El Paso-Gridley “Modulations” (-1)
Waubonsie Valley “Sound Check” (+3)
Mundelein “Sound” (-1)
Wheaton Warrenville South “The Classics” (-1)
Glenwood “Titan Fever” (-1)
Quincy “Electric Blue” (New)
Naperville North “Entourage" (NC)
Receiving Votes: Manteno “Magic”, Oswego “Commotion”
News and Notes
Chaos at John Hersey
The John Hersey Chicagoland Showcase brought together some top groups from Illinois and beyond, and the results certainly came out a bit unexpected. Wheaton North put up a dominant sweep finish to defend their number one spot, but things got wild from there. Waubonsie Valley made an insane comeback bid in finals to jump from sixth to second, Sound Check’s highest-quality result in a long time. It also jumped them up three spots in the rankings. El Paso-Gridley Modulations were able to jump Indiana stalwart Noblesville in finals to take the fourth-place spot. Finally, Naperville North was finally able to break into overall finals, beating out Manteno to do so.
Illinois Groups All Over
While most of the Illinois action happened at John Hersey, there was still plenty of action to go around at comps both in-state and out. At Glenwood, Mt. Zion fended off Marquette for a solid second-place finish, only behind show choir titan Clinton Attaché. Wheaton Warrenville South The Classics drove up to Janesville Craig in Wisconsin, placing second only behind Onalaska. While this is a solid placement, it does result in Classics’ first winless season since 2017. Finally, Quincy made the trip to Fort Madison, Iowa where they got a podium finish against solid Iowa competition, ending a historically successful season for Electric Blue on a high note.
The End Looms at Wheaton Warrenville South
This weekend marks the annual WWS Choral Classic, where multiple Illinois choirs will look to end their season on a high note. Illinois powers like Wheaton North, Mt. Zion, El Paso-Gridley, Waubonsie Valley, and Naperville North will face off against each other as well as out-of-state groups like John Burroughs, Omaha South, and Neenah. Like usual, Choral Classic will be an absolute bloodbath of an event, and a fantastic opportunity for some of these choirs to end their season in the best way possible.
Single Gender
Mt. Zion “You’ve Got Male” (1 first-place vote, no change)
El Paso-Gridley “Hi Fidelity” (1 first-place vote, NC)
Wheaton Warrenville South “Esprit” (1 first-place vote, NC)
Mt. Zion “Les Femmes” (NC)
Mother MacAuley “Mac Melody” (NC)
Receiving Votes: Naperville North “Vivant”, Danville “Contemporaires”
Les Femmes Strikes Back
At Glenwood, Mt. Zion Les Femmes were finally able to get the best of their counterparts You’ve Got Male to make a two-group single-gender finals. YGM has been on an insane run this season, often leaving Les Femmes behind, but this time around, the ladies came out on top. This certainly will make the single-gender division at their next competition, WWS, much more interesting, as YGM will certainly be looking for some revenge, and Les Femmes will be the hunted, not the hunter, for the first time this season.
A Brawl at Hersey
John Hersey’s Chicagoland Showcase brought together a great lineup of single-gender powers from Illinois and Indiana, leading to a very close and in-depth brawl between them. While Chesterton Drifters out of Indiana took the sweep, HiFi was close behind in second and ahead of all the other Illinois groups there, proving they’re still a top group in the state going into WWS. Vivant was also able to place on the podium ahead of Noblesville and Waubonsie’s groups, proving that they’ve still got some competitive juice as well.
A Bloodbath Commences at WWS
Wheaton Warrenville South Choral Classic looks to be bringing the biggest single-gender brawl in Illinois this season, sporting almost all the state’s top groups, as well as some outsiders like John Burroughs and Franklin Community. YGM and HiFi have both been on insane runs this season, however were roadblocked a bit last weekend, adding some more fire to the much anticipated clash. Les Femmes will look to stay ahead of YGM for another week, while Vivant will look to add another podium finish to their resume. Lock in Burroughs for the win, what happens after that is anyone’s guess.
Festival Mixed
Sullivan “Singers” (3 first-place votes, no change)
Crete-Monee “Cavaliers” (NC)
Danville “Delegation” (NC)
Carmel Catholic “Cadence” (NC)
Herscher “Class Act” (NC)
Receiving Votes: Pekin "Noteables"
Sullivan Sees Success at Glenwood
Glenwood brought a fantastic brawl of festival mixed groups, in which the Sullivan Singers were able to come out on top, as well as make overall finals. This cements Sullivan’s spot at number one in our rankings, and continues their great success under director Heather Pistorius and new choreographer Jeff Jordan. Behind them, Crete-Monee notched a solid second-place finish, while Pekin closed the curtain on their program with a third-place finish ahead of Springfield Collage.
Danville Takes the Dub at Avon
Danville Delegation traveled to Avon, Indiana for their last competition on a Friday night, where they were able to come out on top of multiple strong Indiana groups such as DeKalb and Batesville to take their first win of the season. This win caps out a successful first season for Delegation under director Karrin Estes, who took charge after a sudden change right before the season began, so it is a good omen for the future health of the Danville program to see them continue to achieve consistent success.
Carmel Catholic Takes Win #1
While John Hersey sported a smaller festival mixed lineup of only two groups, it still made for a great storyline as Carmel Catholic Cadence was able to win its first division title in program history. This is a big win for a program that only gets out to one or two competitions a year, and a program’s first win is always a milestone one. This win is also a great ending to a short but great season for Cadence, as they have received solid placements at both of their competitions.
One Last Bout at WWS
While Festival Mixed doesn’t have a separate division at the Choral Classic, multiple festival groups such as Sullivan and Herscher are making the trip up to WWS. They will face each other one last time there, along with facing visiting small mixed group Franklin Community Heritage Singers out of Indiana. While none of these groups are favorites to make finals, it’s still nice to have one last bonus brawl between these groups to end the season strong.