In a Supernova of Stars, Eos Comes Out on Top
- Quinn Masek
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
By Quinn Masek, Siouxland contributor
While not the first Iowa competition of the 2026 season, the Linn Mar Supernova continues to be a highlight of the early season for groups across the state and beyond. This year's event proved to be no different.
Womens Division
1st: Hastings “Dynamic Edition”
2nd: Sioux Falls Washington “Stage Lights”
3rd: Papillion-La Vista “Heart and Soul”
4th: Cedar Rapids Kennedy “Protege”
5th: Urbandale “Affinity”
6th: Iowa City “Charisma”
While there was no clear victor in this division going into the competition, Dynamic Edition came to play and took the gold in the womens division. Also, a massive shoutout goes to Stage Lights for getting second in a division full of tough groups. Seeing all of the Iowa groups in the bottom half of this ranking is definitely interesting, but, being the first competition of the season for many of these groups, there is always room for things to change.
Prep Division
1st: Urbandale “Vitality” (BV/BC)
2nd: Prairie “Focal Point”
3rd: Papillion-La Vista “Monarchy” (BB)
4th: Waukee Northwest “Aurora”
It looks like the director and choreographer changes really paid off for Vitality because, even with missing some of their costumes (reportedly one of their costume trunks was accidently left in Des Moines), they showed up and put on an incredible show. Focal Point also surprised a few people by getting second in this division, and Monarchy taking Best Band over Vitality goes to show that Papillion-La Vista consistently has an impressive show band.
Finals Results
GC: Waukee Northwest “Eos” (BC)
1st Runner Up: Urbandale “Studio” (BV)
2nd Runner Up: Iowa City “4th Avenue Jazz Company”
3rd Runner Up: Hastings “Riverside Company”
4th Runner Up: Cedar Rapids Kennedy “Happiness Inc.” (BB)
5th Runner Up: Prairie “The Ambassadors”
There are two groups that missed out on finals for the first time in a while. After getting third at Sioux Falls Jefferson last weekend, Sioux Falls Washington missed out on finals this weekend. The last time that Classic Connection missed finals was in 2020 against a stacked Elkhorn South lineup, 20 competitions ago. Papillion-La Vista Free Spirit also missed finals for the first time since 2018 at Lincoln East's competition, 32 events ago for that ensemble. If anything, this just shows how strong of a competition this was where two high-profile groups were going to have to miss finals. But it’s not the end for Sioux Falls Washington or Papillion-La Vista, as they both still have time to make improvements before their next competitions.
The Ambassadors had an impressive band and fun choreography in their travel-themed show. They tend to start off the season a little slower, so a sixth-place finish was just how it shook out here.
Seeing Happiness Inc. take Best Band seems a little strange at a first glance, but their band was very polished and consistently good throughout the show. They continue the tradition of fun teenage/high school-related shows, as their 2026 show is about a girl being rejected to the prom but eventually becoming the prom queen.
Hastings is another group that tends to start off a little slower, but there is still a lot to love about their garden show. Hastings continues to have impressive vocals, and that didn’t change here. It’ll be interesting to see how much their show changes when they compete next at Bloomington Kennedy.
Iowa City won their first competition of the season, and because of that, their show seemed a bit more polished than the others because they had more time to tweak things. The choreography is solid and very clean, the vocals are polished, and the band is very impressive.
Urbandale went through a whole culture change this season, and while they didn’t win this competition, it looks like those changes paid off. Studio told the story of Man of La Mancha, and their show captured Best Vocals of the entire day.
As the defending champion and having already stacked a win in 2026, Waukee Northwest was the crowd favorite going into this competition. Taking Best Visuals, Eos’ show told the story of an old man reflecting on his late lover. It’s beautiful, it’s sad, it's funny, and it’s amazing. In two weeks, Eos takes on Ankeny Visual Adrenaline at Ankeny Centennial's competition, and that is going to be a very intense battle between two very different types of shows for one of the top spots in Iowa.