Ohio Season Ends with a Bang at Fairfield

By Simon Zimmerman, Ohio Contributor

Loveland "By Request" performs at the Beavercreek Midwest Show Choir Classic on January 18, 2025. | PHOTO: Nathan Ensley

The 2025 Ohio season is coming to an end this weekend at the Fairfield Crystal Classic. Groups will be in attendance from four states, looking to continue or finish their season on a high note at one of Ohio’s most historic competitions. With stacked lineups across all divisions, the 2025 Crystal Classic should be one to remember. 

Auditorium Performances: 

Fairfield will run two venues this weekend, with the auditorium being where Small Mixed, Small Treble, and Middle School groups will perform. In attendance will be: 

Small Mixed - South Dearborn (IN) "Opening Knight", Pike (IN) "Encores", Buckeye Valley "Visions", Norwood "The Silhouettes", Ravenswood "Rave Revue", Sissonville "Touch of Class", Whitehall-Yearling "Music Unlimited", Peoria (IL) "Soundwave", Ross "Legacy" 

Small Treble - Pike (IN) "Mystiques" 

The headline in small mixed will likely be the rematch between Ross and South Dearborn, both strong Cincinnati-area small mixed groups. The two groups last saw each other at Loveland in early February, where Ross beat SD to win small mixed. Since then, Opening Knight has made overall finals at Hamilton (placing 2nd) while Ross fell to Pendleton Heights at Ben Davis (placing 2nd) and made overall finals at South Dearborn (placing 5th). The rematch between the two promises excitement, though there are several other good groups that could make waves in the division. 

One such group is Pike, a solid Indianapolis-area small mixed group; though they fell behind several prep groups plus Danville at Chesterton, they’ve bounced back since, placing 2nd in small mixed at Franklin Community and making overall finals at Mooresville. With a good performance, they will certainly be in contention for a podium spot in small mixed at Fairfield. Another group to watch is Ravenswood Rave Revue, hailing from West Virginia. Ravenswood is on a streak of two finals placements, and they’ve beaten groups like Clover Hill and Twinsburg so far this season, though they were behind South Dearborn and Ross at Loveland. Still, they’ve had over a month to improve since then, and they are most certainly in contention for a small mixed podium spot here. A final group to watch will be Buckeye Valley, one of Ohio’s strongest small mixed groups; though they struggled at Kenton and Alliance, placing 5th at both, they came back with a sweeping win in small mixed at Marysville last weekend, which they will likely be looking to build on for a successful finish to their season. 

A special shoutout is due to Pike’s women’s group, Mystiques, which will be the only small treble group competing at Fairfield. They’ve had a solid season, winning the small single gender at Chesterton and making overall treble finals at Mooresville. Though they won’t be competing against anyone in their division, they are eligible to make finals, so they will be looking to have a solid performance at Fairfield. 

As is customary for two-venue competitions, Fairfield will run separate finals for Auditorium and Arena groups. The Auditorium will take six finalists drawn from small mixed and small treble; in other words, all high school groups in the Auditorium will be eligible for finals. Given how competitive small mixed is, it is a safe bet that it will be a very close battle for those final spots; still, at least three small mixed groups will not make it, a fate which all groups performing will do their best to avoid.

Arena Competition - 

Fairfield’s Arena (what they call their main gym) will house the Middle Mixed, Large Treble, and Large Mixed competition this weekend. Groups attending are: 

Middle Mixed - Edgewood "Choraliers", Robert C. Byrd (WV) "Vocal Intensity", Lebanon "Singers" 

Large Treble - Loveland Allure, Center Grove (IN) "Debtones", Zionsville (IN) "Choralaires", Marysville "Swingers Select" 

Large Mixed - Grove City "Touch of Class", Loveland By Request, Marysville Swingers Unlimited, Center Grove (IN) Sound System, Zionsville (IN) Royalaires 

Middle Mixed will only feature three groups, but it should still be an exciting competition. Edgewood, one of Ohio’s premier small mixed groups, has had a successful season; though they have not outright won any competitions, they took 2nd and the Best Choreo at North Royalton and placed on the overall podium at both Twinsburg and Teays Valley. Their main competition in the division will be Robert C. Byrd from Clarksburg, WV, whose placements have got consistently better throughout the season. At their last competition, they placed 3rd, beating groups like Herbert Hoover and Ravenswood. The final group in middle mixed, Lebanon, has not placed at any of their competitions this year - they’ll be looking to change that here. 

Large Treble is going to be one of the most competitive divisions at Fairfield. The two Ohio groups are coming in off of very different seasons. Marysville Swingers Select has had a good inaugural season; they made finals at both Marion Harding and Ross (taking 4th and 5th respectively), though they did fail to make treble finals at Olentangy. One of the groups that beat them there was Loveland Allure, who have been steadily improving throughout the season. While they started the season with a 3rd place finish in Single Gender at Beavercreek and failed to beat Grove City at Olentangy, Allure has bounced back and made overall finals at their last three competitions, including Mt. Zion, where they beat treble groups from Brandon and WWS as well as Neosho’s mixed group in one of the most competitive events of the year. 

Both Ohio groups are going to need to put on their best performances if they hope to match the two Indiana groups in large treble. While the Zionsville Choralaires have fallen behind women’s groups from Fishers and Franklin Central this season, they remain one of the premier women’s groups in the country; both Ohio groups will need to put on their best performances to beat them. And that’s saying nothing of the Center Grove Debtones, perhaps the best women’s group in the US right now and the odds-on favorite to win large treble at Fairfield; the Debtones have won the single gender division at all of their competitions, beating women’s groups from Carmel, Franklin Central, and Fishers while only losing one caption in the process. Any group looking to beat them will need to have their best performance of the season on Saturday. 

The final division in the arena will be Large Mixed, which includes three Ohio groups. Perhaps the best group in Ohio right now, Marysville Swingers Unlimited, will be in attendance. Marysville is undefeated so far this season and have swept all four of their competitions, beating almost every major Ohio group (besides Solon) in the process. Their last two competitions will be the toughest of the season, as they face top groups from Indiana here at Fairfield and then travel to California to face the Big 3 there. With these competitions, Marysville will look to prove they are a national contender. The other two Ohio groups, Loveland and Grove City, have seen each other twice this season (at Beavercreek and Olentangy); Grove City won both matchups, but Loveland has improved in recent weeks and most definitely remain in contention to beat Grove City. Still, both groups have also lost to Marysville at least once this season, and so Marysville will likely be the highest placing Ohio group here. 

Of course, it will be a tough lift for Marysville to beat the Indiana groups at this competition. Zionsville is coming in with two straight 2nd placements, both behind Franklin Central; despite this, they remain a major contender, and it will be very challenging for any Ohio group to beat them. And that’s saying nothing of Center Grove Sound System, perhaps the best group in the country right now; they are on a 12 competition undefeated streak (going back to 2023) during which they have beat Franklin Central, Carmel, Los Alamitos, Oak Mountain, Zionsville, Waltham, Grenada, Mitchell, and so many more. In other words, they have competed against and beat the best groups from almost every major scene in the country. They are absolutely the favorites to win at Fairfield.

Arena finals will have two separate divisions. There will be a large treble finals, which will take three groups, as well as a medium and large mixed finals, which will take five groups. The large treble finals should be fairly simple; the top three groups from that division in the daytime will make finals. The large and medium mixed finals are a bit more interesting, as it is possible that the top medium mixed group makes finals; however, given the caliber of competition in large mixed, it is more likely that the five finals slots will be taken by the five large mixed groups.