Winner's Circle, 2/7/26: Score Two for the Girls and One for West Branch

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

Oak Mountain: In what has been billed as the Southern upset of the decade, West Jones took a middle mixed division win in prelims and turned it into an overall grand championship in finals. The win was Imagination’s first ever in the state of Alabama and came over defending champion Homewood. West Jones has now tied South Jones with 12 recorded overall wins, tied for 113^th on the all-time list.

Illinois

Crete-Monee: Mundelein Sound was not the favorites before the competition and weren’t in the lead after prelims, but the ensemble rallied to secure the win at Spectacular over Dwight D. Eisenhower, Oswego and Wheaton Warrenville South. Mundelein has now won competitions in two straight seasons, the first time they’ve done that since 2009 and 2010, and are tied for 78^th on the all-time list with 18 wins.

Indiana

Carroll: Franklin Central FC Singers made a late dive in after originally planning to attend Decatur Central on Feb. 7 and walked away with a split-caption win over Lafayette Jefferson. The win was FC Singers’ second at Carroll after a previous triumph in 2021, and extended the ensemble’s winning streak to 19 seasons. Franklin Central now numbers 62 total recorded wins.

Fishers: Center Grove Sound System took Best Vocals and Best Choreography ahead of Noblesville to take the win at Silver Spotlight. The victory marked CG’s sixth straight at the event, last falling to the Mt. Zion Swingsations in 2020. Sound System now has two wins this season and sits at 99 (online) recorded wins, on the precipice of crossing the century mark this weekend at Pike.

Southmont: Competing on Feb. 7 is perhaps the earliest they have ever done it in program history, but that didn’t stop the North Central Counterpoints from snagging the top trophy at Southmont over Avon and Planfield. CP has a five-season win streak and is the third different winner at Southmont since the competition was revived in 2024.

Iowa

Bettendorf: Wheaton North did not secure Best Vocals or Best Choreography, but it did secure Best Band and the win at Rhythm on the Riverbend. Flight extended its win streak to four seasons and increased its total win count to 21 victories. This was Wheaton North’s second consecutive win at Bettendorf.

Mt. Pleasant: In what can only be described as small-town show choir magic, West Branch’s Christopher Jive and the Uptown 45 claimed their first-ever grand championship, riding Best Choreography to the win over Benton Community, Xavier, and Muscatine (who claimed Best Vocals). CJU45, a group hailing from a 2A school with a student body of 275 students, became the 492^nd different winner in show choir history.

Norwalk: Iowa City West led after prelims, but Davenport Central stepped it up in finals, taking a sweep win over Good Time Company. CSI claimed its first win of the season, extending its winning streak to eight seasons (not counting 2021), and became the seventh different winner at Nexus in as many editions of the event.

Sioux Center: It was a phenomenal day for Bishop Heelan. Harmonia Mundi repeated as champions in the Showdown’s second event, moMANtum was third, and Magnifique was fourth. Heelan’s recent hot streak shows no signs of slowing down, as Harmonia Mundi has now won competitions in three consecutive seasons.

Waukee Northwest: Ankeny Centennial continued its run of dominance in 2026, outpacing Urbandale and Waukee to claim its third win of the year. Spectrum has now won three of the four editions of Nightfall and claims 27 wins overall, with 10 of those coming in the five post-pandemic seasons. Centennial will only compete once more this season, on Feb. 28 at Liberty.

Massachusetts

Shepherd Hill: Daniel Hand VIBE continued its roll across the New England scene, taking Best Vocals and the win over Waltham. VIBE now has multiple wins this season, the fourth season in a row the choir has achieved that feat. D-Hand now counts 10 recorded (nonconsecutive) wins at Shepherd Hill, accounting for an entire decade of the competition’s history.

Minnesota

North St. Paul: It has almost become tradition at this point for Hastings Riverside Company to clean up at North St. Paul, as the ensemble has won five of the seven Rock the North events. Hastings now has at least an 18-season win streak (not counting 2021), and tallies 51 recorded Grand Championships, highest of any program in Minnesota and good for 16^th overall.

Mississippi

Jackson Academy: It was a historic finals round for Tupelo Synergy, who secured a Southern sweep (vocals/choreo/show design) over Grenada en route to the win. While Tupelo’s defunct mixed group, Wave Connection, won a pair of competitions in the late 2000s, this is Synergy’s first win as a standalone womens group. Tupelo had finished second at JASI in 2025, 2023 and 2022, making this win a little more sweeter.

Northeast Jones: Brandon finished first and third at the Classic, with Brio taking all three of the major Southern captions over South Jones. Brandon has now won five of the six editions of Classic, with a Clinton win in a weather-impacted 2023 edition remaining the lone outlier. Brio now has multiple wins this year after only hitting the win column once in 2025.

Missouri

Joplin: Broken Arrow Tiger Rhythm continued its run of dominance at In the Spotlight, earning its fourth consecutive win at the event with a commanding sweep over Webb City. Tiger Rhythm now has a six-season winning streak (excluding 2021) and numbers 20 total wins, tied for 70^th on the all-time list. Broken Arrow took an astounding eight total captions in their triumph at Joplin.

Smith-Cotton: Carthage Soundwave pulled ahead in prelims and held the lead in finals to win over Oak Park and Platte County. It was Soundwave’s first win at the Show Me Classic and their first win of the decade, having last achieved the feat in 2019. Soundwave now tallies nine Grand Champion awards, on par with fellow Missouri program Hannibal.

Troy Buchanan: The Mt. Zion Swingsations proved that 2026 is a different season than 2025, toppling Mizzou powerhouse Neosho for the win at Troy. MTZ failed to win in 2025 but are now back at the top, recording win number (unofficially) 95. This win was Swings’ fifth at Troy Buchanan, tying fellow 217 program Glenwood for most all-time at the event.

Nebraska

Elkhorn: Elkhorn North made good on the event where it emerged into the winner’s club one year ago, outscoring Millard North for a vocals/choreo win. adrENaline now numbers three total wins, claiming the Best Vocals caption in all three of them. Their back-to-back wins at Red Carpet Classic are the first since Papio South did so in 2019 and 2020.

Grand Island Northwest: Hastings UNCAGED took down two-time defending winner Grand Island Ultimate Image for their first win at Gold Rush. The win was Hastings’ third in a row, as the choir has not lost in 2026. All of their wins have come in different states, triumphing in Iowa (Glenwood), South Dakota (Sioux Falls Roosevelt), and Nebraska (Grand Island Northwest).

Lincoln Southwest: A turbulent month of January saw Lincoln East Express place sixth at Gretna and withdraw from Gretna East due to sickness, but the ensemble came roaring back with a win over the favored Elkhorn South at LSW. Express now has a five-season winning streak and has four wins at Showdown, second only to Westside’s six.

Papillion-La Vista South: Gretna remained true to its calling card, winning the South Titan Classic for the fourth consecutive year. Revolution now numbers 18.5 total wins and has established a four-season win streak, with 11 of the ensemble’s wins coming in that time period. Their four wins are the most all-time at STC, surpassing Sioux City East (three wins).

Ohio

Marion Harding: In what many regional observers considered a bit of an upset, the Olentangy Keynotes took Best Vocals and Best Choreo and claimed the win over Grove City Class Act. The Keynotes hadn’t seen the win column since 2022 and had never won before at Singsational. The Keynotes now have eight wins, tied with 12 other programs for 158^th on the all-time list.

Twinsburg: Marysville popped into the win column for the year with a five-caption triumph at Northcoast. Swingers Unlimited have seven wins at the event, but this one was their first since 2019. Marysville now has a 22-season win streak and 65 recorded wins, breaking a tie with La Crosse Central and Omaha Westside to move into sole possession of ninth on the all-time list.

Walsh Jesuit: With no large mixed groups in attendance, the win was up for the taking, and Euclid Varsity Chorale rose to the challenge. VC won at Walsh for the second consecutive year, notching their first win of the season and fourth overall. The Great Lakes Invitational is the first competition that Euclid has won more than once in its history.

Oklahoma

Duncan: The Sooner State’s first midweek contest of the year had the sweepstakes award go to Edmond Memorial Act II, who claimed the award over both mixed and womens groups from crosstown Edmond Santa Fe. Memorial now has two wins at Duncan to its credit after a 2023 win, although there may be more as Oklahoma results are not readily available online.

Texas

Fort Worth Southwest: Keller Central Voices of Central claimed an explosive vocals/choreo win over the crosstown Keller Blue Lights to show everyone that they are, once again, the class of Texas show choir. VOC had not claimed a win since the 2023 season, but they scored a decisive decision in Aubrey Kistler’s first competition as director. Keller Central now numbers 12 overall grand championships.

West Virginia

Poca: Winfield Emerald Elegance once again led a Winfield 1-2 this season, taking MusicFest in a strikingly similar fashion to the results of the Nitro Showcats Classic in January. Winfield as a school now counts nine recorded wins, with 2026 being the first season that groups from the school have GCed more than once. Emerald Elegance became the 12^th different recorded winner of MusicFest.

Wisconsin

De Pere: Monona Grove had never attended Destination De Pere in the competition’s first five iterations, but Silver Connection walked out as the 2026 winners in a split-caption decision over Preble and New London. Monona can now claim wins in back-to-back seasons, the first time that’s happened for the group since 2011 and 2012. Silver C now counts 11 recorded wins, tied with fellow Wisconsin programs Fort Atkinson and Milton.

Eau Claire Memorial: In what some might consider poetic justice after a janky 2022 caption split left GCS out of the top spot, La Crosse River City Revolution took vocals, choreography and the win over Sparta. RCR has now won five of the ten contests it has competed in since becoming a combined group, an astounding 50% win rate.