Medina and Loveland Feature Competitive Lineups as Ohio Moves into Mid-February

Though this week’s Ohio lineup only features two competitions, compared to last week’s three, both the Loveland Showfest and the Medina Midwest Showcase will pack a punch as Ohio show choir keeps on chugging into mid-February. 

Last Weekend’s Results: 

• Marion Harding Singsational - The Olentangy Keynotes upset Grove City to win their first overall Grand Champion title since 2022, taking both major captions in the process. Beavercreek rounded out the podium in 3rd, while the Olentangy She-Notes beat Grove City’s women’s group to earn 4th place, completing a banner night for the Olentangy program. Norwood won daytime Small Mixed and placed 6th in finals. 

• Twinsburg - Inclement weather on Friday meant that none of the West Virginia groups slated to attend this competition (Hurricane, Martinsburg, and Jefferson) were able to make it. The top 4 groups were from two programs - Marysville and ETC - with Swingers Unlimited taking the win. ETC All Americans followed them in 2nd, with Marysville’s women’s group beating ETC Rouge to round out the podium. 5th place went to Mayfield, who won Small Mixed in the daytime to earn a finals slot. 

• Walsh Jesuit - Euclid cemented their rising power status in Small Mixed with a sweep here, Garfield Heights group perennial contender Alliance rounded out the podium. 4th place in finals went to Van Buren, who seem to be on the rise as a program. Notably, longtime Ohio Small Mixed top dog Edgewood failed to make finals, signaling a potential sea change in the scene. 

Now for this week’s competitions: 

Medina Midwest Showcase: 

Large Mixed - Findlay “First Edition,” Lebanon “Singers,” Solon “Music in Motion” 

Small Mixed - Euclid “Varsity Chorale,” Mayfield “Limited Edition,” Garfield Heights “Music Express,” Ada “Varsity Singers,” Twinsburg “Great Expectations,” Alliance “Jet Setters” 

Single Gender - Twinsburg “Blue Harmony,” Alliance “Aviatrix” 

Both Large and Small Mixed have interesting storylines at this year’s Midwest Showcase. The favorite going in is Solon Music in Motion; their win streak currently stands at 7, with two wins already this season (at Beavercreek and Findlay). The goal for MIM is almost certainly another undefeated season, and a win at Medina would put them over halfway there. They will face some competition here from Findlay; for their part, First Edition is looking to put last season behind them and reclaim their status near the top of Ohio, though they have changed some things (most notably, they are doing a story show this year). Everything this author has heard seems to indicate that FFE will be better this year, though it would still be considered an upset for them to beat Solon (if only because it is FFE’s first competition). Rounding out Large Mixed is Lebanon, who has a good shot at making finals here, which would be an improvement from their last competition. 

Small Mixed is going to be a very interesting division. Euclid is definitely the favorite after their sweep last weekend at Walsh Jesuit, where they beat Garfield Heights, Alliance, and Mayfield. It is entirely possible that those relative placements are repeated in Small Mixed at Medina, though a shift is always within the realm of possibility. Twinsburg will be a group to watch here; they have a finals appearance this season at a tough Olentangy competition to their name, and they haven’t seen any of the other groups in this division yet in 2026. While Great Expectations is usually considered among the top Small Mixed groups in Ohio, it will be interesting to see how they compare to other top competitors. Finally, Ada Varsity Singers will be starting their competitive season here; a good placement here would set the tone for the rest of their season. 

Last year’s Midwest Showcase took 6 finalists, and this year’s looks to be the same. Solon and Findlay are locks for two of those slots; the rest will likely go to some combination of Small Mixed groups plus Lebanon. The competition for finals will add an extra intensity to the Small Mixed daytime round, as the top three in that division will likely also make finals.

Loveland Showfest: 

Large Mixed - New Castle (IN) “Red Hot Blues,” Hamilton “Prestige,” Beavercreek “Friends,” Daniel Hand (CT) “VIBE,” Marysville “Swingers Unlimited,” Olentangy “Keynotes,” Fairfield “Choraliers” 

Small Mixed - Milton-Union “Center Stage,” Norwood “The Silhouettes,” West Jessamine (KY) “Dually Noted,” South Dearborn (IN) “Opening Knight” 

Single Gender - New Castle (IN) “Dynamiques,” Fairfield “Pure Elegance,” Marysville “Swingers Select,” Olentangy “She-Notes,” West Jessamine (KY) “Fortissima” 

Showfest is a competition that tends to draw good lineups for mid-February, and this year’s lineup would be great at any point in the season. The headline matchup in Large Mixed is Marysville vs Daniel Hand. Both groups have competed twice already in 2026 and have wins to their name - Marysville came 2nd behind Center Grove at Olentangy and won at Twinsburg, while Daniel Hand won at both Tantasqua and Shepherd Hill - and both are top groups in their respective regions. The last time they saw each other was in 2023 at HOA New York, and Marysville came out on top then; however, things have changed in the past few years, and there’s no guarantee that result will happen again here. 

There’s one other group in Large Mixed with a win this season, and that is the Olentangy Keynotes. Their sweep over Grove City last weekend was definitely a statement for the group, which has steadily rose over the past few seasons, but the competition here will be much tougher; finishing on the podium would be an aspirational goal. Other contenders at Showfest include Fairfield, who placed 4th (behind CG, Marysville, and Loveland) at Olentangy as well as wildcard New Castle, who struggled with a third place at Anderson but have done well in the past in a tough Indiana scene. The Large Mixed field will be rounded out by Beavercreek, who placed 3rd last week at Marion Harding and could definitely contend for finals here, as well as Hamilton, who made finals at Findlay but will face a tougher lift to do so here. 

Small Mixed is going to be an interesting division as well. The only two groups to have seen each other so far this season are West Jessamine and South Dearborn - both competed at Beavercreek, where Dually Noted placed 2nd and Opening Knight placed 3rd in Small Mixed. One of those two out-of-state groups is likely the favorite for the divisional title here, though Norwood (who won Small Mixed and made finals at Marion Harding last weekend) certainly can’t be counted out.

While the Single Gender division doesn’t quite have Large Mixed’s firepower, it is shaping up to be quite competitive in its own right. West Jessamine will be representing Kentucky in this division; though Fortissima put on a good show at Beavercreek, and will definitely have improved since then, they likely will be at a disadvantage due to lower numbers than the other groups. Indiana will be represented by New Castle, who did well in the Single Gender division at Anderson, taking Best Vocals and placing 2nd behind Westfield; it’s certainly not out of the question that they do similarly well here. For their part, the Olentangy She-Notes did quite well last weekend, winning Single Gender at Marion Harding and beating Grove City’s Class Act in the process; they are another group to watch here. 

However, all eyes in this division will likely be on the rematch between Marysville and Fairfield’s women’s groups. Swingers Select and Pure Elegance last saw each other two weekends ago at Olentangy. There, Marysville beat Fairfield in prelims before falling behind them in finals (both groups were behind the Center Grove Debtones, who placed 1st in prelims and finals). Both Marysville and Fairfield will have this on their mind going into Showfest on Saturday, as well as the potential implications: beating Fairfield would be a great result for Marysville’s women’s group (in only their 2nd season of competition, no less). A victory for Fairfield, on the other hand, would be a sign that Olentangy prelims were a fluke and that they remain near the top of Ohio’s single gender scene. 

The 2026 Loveland Showfest will take two Single Gender finalists and five Mixed finalists. It’s really up in the air which groups will make Single Gender finals. While it is entirely possible that the Marysville-Fairfield rematch takes those two slots, the possibility that another Single Gender group beats one or both of them to make finals cannot be discounted. The picture for the Mixed groups is a bit clearer. Marysville and Daniel Hand should both be locks for the evening round, while Fairfield and Olentangy should be strong favorites as well. The last finals spot will likely go to one of the other three Large Mixed groups (Beavercreek, New Castle, Hamilton), though it’s not impossible that the Small Mixed winner makes finals over Large Mixed groups.