Mt. Zion, Sullivan Brought Double the Show Choir Action to The 217

By Dylan Moss, Illinois contributor

Illinois hosted two major events this past weekend at the Mt. Zion Midwest Invitational and the Sullivan Invitational, both of which featured Indiana’s titans clashing with premier groups from Illinois and beyond. Now that the dust has settled, the results certainly give a lot to talk about in the thick of the stretch run of the season.

Mt. Zion Midwest Invitational Final Results

Mixed Finals

GC: Center Grove “Sound System” (BV/BC)

1RU: Carroll “Magic”

2RU: Wheaton North “Flight” (BB)

3RU: Troy Buchanan “Express”

4RU: Glenwood “Titan Fever”

Womens Finals

GC: Center Grove “Debtones” (BV/BC)

1RU: Carroll “Select Sound”

Festival Mixed

GC: Troy Buchanan “Soundwave” (BV/BC/BB)

1RU: Crete-Monee “Cavaliers” 

2RU: Peotone “Powerhouse”

News and Notes

The Reign of Center Grove Continues

Indiana titan Center Grove made the visit to Illinois to compete at the Midwest Invitational for the first time since 1998. Center Grove entered as the odds-on favorite to win, and they proved exactly why, as both Sound System and Debtones took commanding sweeps in their divisions. This was both groups’ second out-of-state sweep this season and extended Sound System’s win streak to a whopping fourteen competitions. Looking forward for CG, they will be tasked with fending off a charge from fellow titan Franklin Central before ending their season back at Show Choir Nationals, where they will see a few of the same groups they saw here.

Carroll Gets Their Getback

Going into this event, the groups who would end up second and third place, Carroll and Wheaton North, had seen each other previously at the Chesterton Trojan Classic. At that event, Wheaton North placed ahead of Carroll, while the latter narrowly missed finals. However, this time around, a hungry Carroll proved their resilience by placing ahead of Flight in another neck and neck matchup, showing that Carroll can never be counted out even after a lesser showing, and is a major momentum boost for Magic as they prepare for an end-of-season trip to Show Choir Nationals, another event where they will have to lay it all on the line just for finals.

Glenwood Hangs On To Finals

A very close matchup between Glenwood and Naperville North was anticipated for the elusive fifth finals spot at this event, and Glenwood ended up coming out on top to advance into the finals round, leaving Naperville behind. Glenwood last year missed finals at three events of this nature, including the Mt. Zion invitational itself, so Titan Fever hanging on and making it here, as well as their consistent podium placements this season, continue to show that the group may finally be back on the up after dealing with a rough patch these last couple of seasons. Next up for Glenwood is a host performance at The Event before going to another stacked event in Brownsburg, Indiana, then ending their season at SCN. Titan Fever will once again need everything they have to make finals at those last comps, so the momentum gained here will prove vital.

Sullivan Show Choir Invitational Final Results

GC: Zionsville “Royalaires” (BV/BC/BB)

1RU: Wheaton Warrenville South “The Classics”

2RU: Zionsville “Choralaires”

3RU: Wheaton Warrenville South “Esprit”

4RU: Manteno “Magic”

News and Notes

Zionsville Takes The Big Win

Much like Center Grove, Zionsville Royalaires entered their Illinois event as the odds-on favorite to win, and also much like CG, they proved exactly why. Royalaires took a dominant victory, taking all three major captions against a hungry WWS, and getting back in the win column for the first time since 2024. This win provides Zionsville a lot of momentum as they head into their final two competitions at Fairfield and Brownsburg, both of which feature top-tier competition both in state and out for the Royalaires.

Classics Survive the Choralaires

Wheaton Warrenville South's The Classics found themselves in third place after the preliminary round, close behind the Zionsville Choralaires. Classics, however, were finally able to find their lock in factor, and they rallied to take down the Choralaires in the finals round, notching a solid second place, their best placement of the season so far. This proves the Classics are still a resilient group despite their struggles this season, and provides some much needed juice heading into their last competition at Janesville Craig, where they will contend closely with a strong Onalaska choir for their elusive first win of the season.

Single-Gender Groups Invade Finals

This year’s Sullivan Invitational featured two premier single-gender groups breaking into the finals round, including WWS Esprit and the Zionsville Choralaires. As previously mentioned, Choralaires placed second in the preliminary round ahead of Classics, and although they fell to third in finals, its still a monumentally good showing for a single-gender group. Esprit also had a solid showing, beating a strong mixed group in Manteno Magic to take the fourth place spot. Looking ahead, Choralaires will face strong divisional tests at Fairfield and Brownsburg, while Esprit will look to make one last finals berth for the season at Janesville Craig.

What's Next?

As the dust settles from last weekend, almost all of these groups find themselves in the home stretch of their seasons. Many groups, such as Carroll, CG, Troy and Glenwood, still have very tough national trip comps ahead, which their placements at these events will help set the tone for, while others such as WWS end their season fairly imminently, and will look to end on the right foot. As for the state of Illinois, this next weekend will feature two major comps in Glenwood and John Hersey, where in-state powers as well as somehow even more Indiana groups will do battle. Momentum is key heading into the second half of the season, and those who found it this weekend will look to ride it off into the sunset as the season slowly draws to a close.