Many Miles Spent: A Southern Show Choir Recap (Mar. 7)
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This past weekend saw Southern groups competing at seven different competitions, spread fairly well coast-to-coast across the entire country. Some groups achieved strong wins while others fell short, and of course there’s always regional events to discuss. Take a look with us to evaluate all the Southern show choir results from this last weekend!
Biloxi Gulf Coast Classic
PHOTO: Tupelo sweeps at the BGCC | @denafpike
The Southern competition of the week, taking place at Biloxi, resulted in Tupelo’s third Grand Championship of the season. Their sweep marks the end of an absolutely historic season for not only the Tupelo program, but single-gender groups across the nation. Synergy has proven it's possible to succeed against top programs as a treble group. Northwest Rankin made a loud statement at this event with a 1RU placement, coming just days after an announcement that their director would be changing locations and headed for Jackson Prep next season. Sauk Prairie, hailing from Wisconsin, took 2RU position after their travels, ahead of Grenada and Jackson Academy respectively.
Jackson Academy's trip shocked many people by making finals and winning the 3A division over the likes of Northeast Jones and Oak Grove. The 2A tier was non-competitive with Pike Road being the lone group. The 1A division was yet another West Marion divisional win. This marks West Marion’s first ever undefeated season and caps off a current eight division win streak and 17 divisional wins in their last 18 competitions. Tupelo won the single gender tier, followed by Northwest Rankin and Sauk Prairie’s treble groups in that order. Final results are posted below (Five finalists):
GC) Tupelo “Synergy” (Sweep)
1RU) Northwest Rankin “The Ambassadors”
2RU) Sauk Prairie “Executive Session”
3RU) Grenada “Visions”
4RU) Jackson Academy “Encore”
1st in 4A) Northwest Rankin “The Ambassadors”
1st in 3A) Jackson Academy “Encore”
Only Group in 2A) Pike Road “Prestige”
1st in 1A) West Marion “New Era”
1st in Single Gender) Tupelo “Synergy”
Jasper Foothills Show Choir Classic
PHOTO: Oak Mountian sweeps at Jasper | Mary Montez Hayes
Over in Alabama, an interesting 3-group finals setup was taking shape. Oak Mountain, the heavy favorites, went on to sweep this event, and Briarwood placed 1RU as many expected. The last finals spot and eventual 2RU position was a battle between Hamilton and Oak Mountain’s treble group. Despite Hamilton’s best efforts, Oak Mountain’s treble group came out on top of that matchup (and won the single-gender division). The middle mixed and small mixed divisions were non-competitive, with Albertville and Boaz being the only competing groups for their respective divisions. Final results are posted below (Three finalists):
GC) Oak Mountain “Singers” (Sweep)
1RU) Briarwood “Radica”
2RU) Oak Mountain “The Muses”
1st in Large) Oak Mountain “Singers”
Only Group in Middle) Albertville “CenterStage!”
Only Group in Small) Boaz “Elite”
1st in Single Gender) Oak Mountain “The Muses”
Tift County Peach State Invitational
PHOTO: Rome wins the Championship Division at Tift County | Tift County Show Choirs
Out on the Southskirts, a very unique competition was taking place. This event featured the first ever “Champion” division, where any group could opt into this tier, and only these groups would be eligible for the Grand Champion title. As a result, Rome ended with a Grand Championship sweep over Appling County and Opelika. In the separate small mixed division, Oxford came away with the divisional win, and Lowndes County earned a divisional second at their first ever competition. The single-gender tier was non-competitive, with North Paulding being the only group present. Final results are posted below (No finals):
GC) Rome “Grand Finale” (Sweep)
1RU) Appling County “Applause”
2RU) Opelika “Ovations”
1st in Small) Oxford “Sound”
Only Group in Single Gender) North Paulding “EnChorus”
(Lots of) Travelers!
As mentioned in our preview article, this weekend featured five different Southern show choir programs traveling to four different out-of-region events across the country with varying results. On the east coast in Virginia, Petal earned a Grand Championship title over the likes of Hurricane and Matoaca. The next closest event was in Ohio, where Brandon finished the event with a 3RU overall placement and Tarpon Springs won the overall small division title. Next, in Illinois, Clinton clinched yet another undefeated season with a Grand Championship sweep over the likes of Mt Zion and Marquette. On the west coast, in California, Prattville finished last in a competitive intermediate mixed division.
Looking Forward
With another round of Southern show choir behind us, it’s time to look forward! However, this weekend features no true Southern competitions. As a matter of fact, there will only be two Southern programs competing, with Briarwood and Tift County headed to FAME Orlando. With that said, we will not be posting a preview/recap article for this weekend, but we will pick back up next weekend. Thanks for reading!
FAME Orlando (Orlando, FL)
- Briarwood “Radica”
- Tift County “8th Street Singing Company”
- Briarwood “Karis”