Winner's Circle, 1/24/26: Both Bloomingtons Triumph, Spain Park, Garfield Heights Return to the Win Column

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.

Alabama

Hoover: Show choir’s latest wrestling-themed contest yielded somewhat of a surprise victor, as weigh-in favorite Brandon had to withdraw due to travel concerns. Spain Park Rhapsody in Blue turned away all middle mixed contenders to claim victory with the highest overall score of the day. It is the first win at Spain Park for directors Martez Tidwell and Garrett Lindsey and the group’s fourth overall. The other three all came at the Auburn University Jazz Festival between 2004 and 2007, meaning this was Rhapsody in Blue’s first GC in nearly 20 years.

Indiana

Anderson: At a competition that saw a smaller field and no finals due to potential weather impacts, Columbus North Vocal Pointe rode Best Vocals to the overall grand championship over Glenwood and New Castle. It was Vocal Pointe’s second overall win following a 2024 triumph at Shelbyville; they become one of 54 programs that have two recorded wins. The A-Town Showdown has now had a different winner each year since its reboot in 2024.

Iowa

Johnston: Urbandale Studio outpaced Prairie and Waukee to claim win number 14.5 at Johnston, most of any group in Showzam history. It is the first win for Studio under the leadership of Adam Brown and extends Urby’s winning streak to 11 seasons, a span that has encompassed 20 wins for the group. Studio’s 52.5 all-time recorded wins put them 15^th on the national list, a half-victory back of California’s Burbank In Sync and two and a half ahead of Minnesota titan Hastings Riverside Company.

Mississippi

South Jones: A late influx of competitors that included Biloxi and (monetarily) Jackson Academy was no sweat for original favorite West Jones Imagination, who took all three of the South’s major captions en route to the 3A division win and the overall Grand Championship. Imagination has now established a three-season win streak at South Jones and numbers six wins total at the event, outpacing Petal for most in recorded history. West Jones’ 11 overall wins is tied for 122^nd-most all-time.

Nebraska

Gretna East: Linn-Mar 10^th Street Edition went to Nebraska for the first time in over 10 years and walked out with a sweep, extending their winning streak to 19 competitions. 10SE became the second winner of Echoes of the East in as many years and the 70^th different group to record an event grand championship in the state of Nebraska. Linn-Mar now sits at 48 recorded wins, tied with other national powers Carmel and Los Alamitos for 18^th on the all-time list.

Hastings: A week after claiming a sweep at Lincoln Links, Grand Island Northwest 14 Karat Gold did it again with a vocals/choreo win over Lincoln High and crosstown Grand Island Ultimate Image. This was 14KG’s third win at Tiger Clash, constituting half of the wins in the event’s six-year history (Grand Island counts two and Norris has one). This is GINW’s first multiple-win season since a 2.5-win 2023 campaign that also included a win at Hastings.

Millard West: After landing in third at Gretna on Jan. 17, Westside Amazing Technicolor Show Choir came roaring back with a seven-total-caption win at Music Lives. It was ATSC’s second consecutive win at Music Lives and their ninth overall at the event. With a win this season, ATSC’s win streak now numbers at least 19 seasons (not counting 2021), with 61 of the group’s 64 recorded wins coming during that time. They currently sit tied with John Burroughs and Marysville for ninth all-time.

Skutt Catholic: The cancellation of the Chillicothe Chilli Grooves Festival was not a deterrent for Chesterton, who wound up road tripping from Indiana to Nebraska instead of Indiana to Missouri. The Sandpipers were the clear class of the field, taking five total captions. Nebraska is the fifth different state Chesterton has won in, following Indiana, Alabama, Illinois and Wisconsin. The Sandpipers now number 18 event wins, tied with Davenport North and Iowa City for 76^th on the all-time list.

Standing Bear: Lincoln Southwest Resonance cleaned up a sweep win over Norris and Pius X, remaining the only winner in the two-year history of The Summit. Resonance scored its first win with Leighton Ware as director and extended its winning streak to four seasons. LSW’s 26 wins as a program is tied with Ankeny Centennial and Waukee for 51^st all-time.

Ohio

North Royalton: In a week where it was the small mixed groups’ time to shine, Garfield Heights Music Express rose to the occasion. Express, which is in the final season of Stephen Penrod’s leadership after about a quarter-century, beat Kenton Top Twenty in a split-caption decision. The win at Showdown was GH’s first since a Feb. 1, 2020 triumph at Walsh Jesuit. Music Express now numbers 10 recorded wins, the 140^th program across the country to do so.

Wisconsin

Altoona: Despite a quick turnaround that included performing last in prelims and first in finals, Bloomington Jefferson Jefferson Connection grabbed a vocals/choreo win at Locopalooza over Eau Claire North and Tomah. It was Connection’s second win at Altoona following a 2018 triumph and first overall grand championship since the 2022 season. Jefferson now numbers 14 recorded wins, tied for 100^th all-time with Crete-Monee, Danville, Decatur Eisenhower, Hart, Medina, Shepherd Hill and Sioux Falls Roosevelt.

Milton: De Pere Jam Session proved that they are here to stay for the season, taking a three-caption sweep over Waconia and Sauk Prairie for their second win of 2026. This is the first time that Jam Session has won consecutive competitions in a season. De Pere becomes the 17^th different recorded winner in the 34-year history of Rock the Rock. Their 12 wins in Wisconsin is tied with Hastings and Waconia for seventh-most all-time.

Sparta: Bloomington Kennedy Rhythm in Gold dispatched Onalaska in a vocals/choreo win, becoming the third different winner of Burst of Adrenaline in as many years of the competition’s existence. RIG extended their win streak to four seasons with the win, dating back to 2023. It is the first day ever in recorded online history that both Bloomington Kennedy and Bloomington Jefferson have won a competition on the same day.