John Hersey Chicagoland Showcase Produces No Shortage of Chaotic Results
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
By Dylan Moss, Illinois contributor
The John Hersey Chicagoland Showcase made its grand return this season featuring a lineup of many top-tier groups. After a long battle between these groups, the results certainly had some shocking stories and events to talk about.
Final Results
GC: Wheaton North “Flight” (BV/BC)
1RU: Waubonsie Valley “Sound Check”
2RU: Chesterton “Sandpipers”
3RU: El Paso-Gridley “Modulations”
4RU: Noblesville “NHS Singers”
5RU: Naperville North “Entourage”
Festival Mixed
1st: Carmel Catholic “Cadence” (BV/BC)
2nd: Peotone “Powerhouse”
Single Gender
1st: Chesterton “Drifters” (BV/BC)
2nd: El Paso-Gridley “Hi Fidelity”
3rd: Naperville North “Vivant”
4th: Noblesville “New Dimension”
5th: Waubonsie Valley “Resonance”
News and Notes
Wheaton North Takes The Win
Wheaton North Flight successfully defended their Chicagoland home territory with a commanding win over a very strong field. This is Flight’s second win of the season, and surprisingly, their first two captions of the season so far. This is, of course, not an indictment on Flight and more so a testament to the monster caliber of competition they have faced so far. Notably, they were able to take the choreography caption off of El Paso-Gridley, who took the caption the last time the two groups faced off at Bettendorf, showing Flight’s growth in that area. Flight will compete one final time next weekend at Wheaton Warrenville South, where they will face a similarly strong field.
Waubonsie Valley: Party Like It’s 2013
The biggest story of this year’s Chicagoland Showcase was undoubtedly Waubonsie Valley Sound Check making an unexpected jump from sixth place in prelims all the way to second in finals. This placement is massive for Sound Check, as they haven’t quite taken down competition of the caliber of the third- to fifth-place groups in a few years. This also presents another saga in what has been Illinois’ most chaotic season in quite some time, showing how even this late in the season, one can never be too sure what is going to happen. This marks a potential major turning point for Waubonsie Valley, as they next make their way to a competition they know like the back of their hand, the WWS Choral Classic, where they will hope to make some similar waves.
Close Battles Down The Rankings
Down the ranks from one and two saw a close battle between the likes of Chesterton, El Paso-Gridley, Noblesville, and Naperville North. Chesterton ended up in the third place spot, continuing their consistent success at Hersey. El Paso-Gridley was behind Noblesville in prelims, but were able to jump the NHS Singers in finals to notch a solid fourth-place finish. While Noblesville didn’t quite end their season the way they were hoping, sometimes tough competition equals tough results, and it doesn’t take away from their accomplishments this season. Finally, Naperville showed some improvement by earning their first finals berth of the season, something they will hope to repeat next weekend at WWS.
Carmel Catholic Wins Their First Division Title
In the festival mixed division, Carmel Catholic Cadence was able to win its first division title in program history here, defeating Peotone to do so. It may be a little shocking it took them this long to do it, but while Cadence is a very strong group, only going to one or two competitions in a year doesn’t exactly give many win opportunities. However, Cadence was finally able to get the job done here in a commanding sweep, and while this wasn’t the most stacked field by any means, a win is a win, and the that first in history is always worth celebrating.
Drifters Win The Single-Gender Brawl
The Chicagoland Showcase presented a great single-gender division full of strong, red-hot groups. Chesterton Drifters came out on top with a sweep, winning a close battle with red-hot El Paso-Gridley Hi Fidelity, showing that Drifters are not a group to be messed with. While Hi Fi’s winning streak was snapped here, they still remain a very strong choir, and should still be right in the thick of it next weekend at WWS. Vivant also remained competitive with a podium finish, a nice bounce back from their previous competitions. While Noblesville and Waubonsie placed in the bottom spots, they still provided worthy competition, and still provided some great shows to watch.
The End Draws Near
The season for many choirs has either come to a close at this competition, or will end in the next couple of weeks. Wheaton North, Waubonsie, El Paso-Gridley, and Naperville North will all see each other again next weekend at Wheaton Warrenville South, which will provide a trademark season-ending brawl for these choirs. Chesterton will be tasked with facing a very strong Carroll choir at Norwell, and Noblesville will end their season by hosting their annual Indiana championships in a couple of weeks. Many of these choirs will be looking to go out in a blaze of glory, and the Chicagoland Showcase certainly provided an excellent prelude for that.