Winner's Circle, 1/10/26: Iowa Groups Win in Three States
- William Soquet
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
By William Soquet, Editor-in-Chief
Winning isn’t everything, but it certainly is something. Here’s a look at who took overall Grand Championships this weekend, and what it means in historical context.
Disclaimer:Â Win totals are sourced from showchoir.com. Not every show choir competition is documented online, and as such, all win totals should be considered unofficial. To view a full spreadsheet of data, click here.
Iowa
Cedar Rapids Xavier: Iowa City 4th Avenue Jazz Company was the only 4A choir in attendance and rolled to a two-caption finals win over Marion, Keokuk and North Polk to become the first high school winner of Xtravaganza’s 14-year history. It was 4AJC’s first win since 2024 and their fifth after the pandemic. Their 18 total wins put them in sole possession of 76th on the all-time list, just ahead of Gretna at 17.5 and just behind five schools with 19.
Des Moines Christian: It was a repeat win for Waukee Millennium, who took all three major captions and its third overall win at Illumination. After going winless from 2018 to 2020, Millennium now tallies a six-season win streak that has spanned two different directors. Waukee’s 26 wins put them alone in 51st place all time, and their 24 wins in the state of Iowa put them in seventh place in the Hawkeye State.
Missouri
Maryville: What many observers considered a toss-up contest went to Oak Park’s Oak Street Singers, who grabbed both Best Vocals and Best Choreography to triumph over Skutt, Smith-Cotton and Pleasant Hill. The win was the first since 2018 for the North Kansas City-based choir. The seven-season winless streak that was busted was the longest in program history. Oak Street Singers are now tied with fellow Missouri choirs Carthage and Joplin at eight wins all-time.
Ohio
Van Buren: The victor of the inaugural Knight Music contest was Piqua, who claimed four total captions en route to a win over Euclid, Marion Harding and Lebanon. The Company now has 27 total wins, tied for 49th-best with the now-defunct Buffalo Grove Expressions. Van Buren is the 14th different contest that Piqua has recorded a win at. Piqua now boasts a six-season winning streak dating back to 2021.
South Dakota
Sioux Falls Jefferson: Ankeny Centennial Spectrum was the clear class of the field at the Cavalier Classic, claiming Best Vocals, Best Visuals and the win. The triumph was Spectrum’s 25th, making them the 59th choir to cross the 25-recorded win threshold. They are the youngest to do so, commencing their competition journey in 2014 after the school opened in fall 2013. Centennial is averaging over two wins a season for its entire competitive career, a remarkable feat.
Wisconsin
Holmen: In the choir’s first-ever trip to the Badger State, Waukee Northwest Eos took the win plus vocals and choreography, defeating Sparta, Onalaska and others. Wisconsin is the third state Eos has won in, and Eos is the 71st recorded group to win a competition in Wisconsin. Waukee Northwest now has a five-season win streak and has won at least one competition every season in its history. Eos is the 16th different winner of the Holmen Gathering across 28 recorded contests.
Tomah: La Crosse River City Revolution switched from attending Holmen to attending Tomah this season, and the move paid immediate dividends with a vocals/choreo win over last season’s Cranberry Jamboree winner, El Paso-Gridley. The win was the third for the combined La Crosse program and their first in the choir’s home Coulee Region, as its previous wins came at Milton in southeastern Wisconsin and Medford in north central Wisconsin.