Winner's Circle, 1/17/26: Both Ankenys Win, Wisconsin Stands Firm

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 past weekend, and what it means in historical context.

Disclaimer: Win totals are sourced from showchoir.com. Only overall event grand champions are listed. 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

Benton: Ankeny Visual Adrenaline had their cake and ate it too as winners of the 30^th annual Touch of Class. VA is no stranger to success at Benton, with 2025 being their fifth win; the choir trails only Cedar Rapids Jefferson with six. A week after both Waukee and Waukee Northwest won, both Ankeny outfits (VA and Ankeny Centennial Spectrum) emerged victorious. This happened the same weekend last year, when VA won at Benton and Spectrum won at Waukee.

Glenwood: In one of those “once in a blue moon” results, Hastings Uncaged took the win with Best Band over Sioux Center Satisfaction, who had both Best Vocals and Best Choreography in second. Uncaged scored its fourth win overall and is now enjoying a three-season win streak under the leadership of director Christian Yost. It was Uncaged’s second win at Glenwood (following a 2024 win), tying them with Gretna for most in Gala history.

Linn-Mar: Fresh off a win in the first weekend of competition season, Waukee Northwest Eos held serve over the challenging Urbandale Studio to claim its second consecutive win at Supernova. Eos is now up to seven wins in the group’s five-year competitive tenure, and 2026 is the first season since 2023 that the ensemble has won multiple competition. Only Cedar Rapids Kennedy (3), Ankeny Centennial (6) and Urbandale (8) have won more editions of Supernova than Eos.

Muscatine: A massive jump from third in prelims to first after finals was the story of the day for Davenport North Northside Establishment, who toppled Chesterton and Pella to win a fire alarm-impacted River City Showcase. Northside is the tenth different recorded winner at Muscatine, joining groups from Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Davenport North’s 18 wins tie them with Iowa City for 76^th on the all-time list.

Waukee: The lighthouse reigned supreme again as Ankeny Centennial Spectrum sailed to its second consecutive Starstruck win. Centennial has now joined Urbandale, Johnston and Valley as a multiple-time winner of the event. Spectrum is off to a similar trajectory as 2025, where they also won their first two competitions of the season; however, they accomplished the feat a little earlier this year (Jan. 17) than last year (Feb. 8 at Waukee Northwest).

Kansas

Blue Valley: In its first-ever competition appearance in Kansas, Johnston Innovation took a dominating three-caption sweep over powers Broken Arrow and Neosho. Inno became the fifth different winner in as many editions of the Tiger Takedown. Kansas is the sixth different state that Johnston has scored a win in. Johnston’s winning streak now sits at six seasons, and Innovation holds sole possession of 17^th on the all-time win list with 49 wins.

Nebraska

Burke: In a contest that had no clear winner coming in, O’Gorman Ovation! seized the opportunity to secure the win, the first of director Nick Engbers’ five-season tenure. It was OG’s first win since a 2017 triumph at Aberdeen Central. Ovation now sits at seven wins all-time, and of those, two have come in Nebraska: this one and a 2013 win at the Omaha North Viking Cup over Ralston and Bellevue West.

Gretna: A year after its shocking upset win at Primetime, Gretna East Equinox repeated the feat this year, beating Millard North and Westside. Equinox joins a unique cadre of groups with two wins at Primetime: them, Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Papillion-La Vista South, and St. Francis. Gretna East now lands as one of 19 groups with four career wins – among them is fellow Cornhusker State ensemble Hastings Uncaged.

Links: A late entrance from Lincoln Southwest shook things up, but it was not enough to stop Grand Island Northwest 14 Karat Gold from claiming their second consecutive win at Lincoln Links. GINW now sits at 15.5 recorded wins, tied with Bishop Heelan for 91^st on the all-time list. Their repeat at Links makes them a majority winner in the competition’s young three-year history, with Lincoln East’s 2024 victory standing as the only non-Northwest win.

Ralston: After a winless 2025 season, Elkhorn South Blackout came roaring back to start 2026, sweeping Sioux City East at Ramageddon. It was Blackout’s first win since… Sioux City East Sing All About It in 2024. Elkhorn South now counts 10 wins, becoming the 139^th different program to reach that threshold. They are the ninth different winner of Ramageddon, joining crosstown outfit Elkhorn Excel on the winners list (Elkhorn North, you know where to go next year to complete the sweep).

Ohio

Beavercreek: Solon Music in Motion begun its defense of an undefeated 2025 campaign with a no-caption win, outlasting Best Vocals winner Noblesville and Best Choreo/Best Band winner Loveland. It was Solon’s second consecutive win at Beavercreek and third overall, as MIM also counts a triumph in 2013. This was Solon’s 36^th recorded win, pushing them into a tie for 35^th overall with Ankeny and Sullivan.

West Virginia

Nitro: It was all Winfield at the top, as General Admission took second and Emerald Elegance took the win, the first overall win for a womens ensemble in the 2026 season. Winfield as a program now numbers eight recorded wins; six of those have come in the past six seasons. Their seven recorded wins in West Virginia is tied with Marysville for fourth-most in state history behind Hurricane, Cabell Midland and Poca.

Wisconsin

New London: De Pere Jam Session notched a split-caption win over the favored Waconia Power Company to defend Wisconsin’s home turf. Jam Session has been a constant force of the Singstock Festival, winning three of the five Singstocks that have been held and pairing that with a win at New London’s old Center Stage Invitational in 2017. De Pere now enjoys a five-season win streak and sits at 11 recorded wins, on par with Wisconsin programs Fort Atkinson and Milton.

Onalaska: In a reprise of their giant-slaying ways, La Crosse River City Revolution outsang Bloomington Kennedy, taking Best Vocals and the win in another decisive in-state victory for the Badger State. In only its second season as a combined program, La Crosse has now racked up four wins, all coming at different competitions in the state of Wisconsin. Their four wins in Wisconsin equal that of Parkview, Tomah, and Wheaton Warrenville South.