Wisconsin 2026 Varsity Show Choir Rankings
By William Soquet, Editor-in-Chief
1. Onalaska Hilltoppers (2 first-place votes)
There was a time in January that folks wondered if the Hilltopper reign was over. Plot twist – it’s not. After early-season losses to Sparta and Bloomington Kennedy, Onalaska broke into the win column with a no-caption victory at Sauk Prairie before sweeping at La Crosse, beating La Crosse at Western Dubuque and closing the year with a signature win over Illinois titan Wheaton Warrenville South at Janesville Craig. Was it the same level of success on paper as 2025? No, but Hilltopper still outplaced the number-two choir on this list to solidify its place as the incumbent best choir in Wisconsin until further notice.
2. La Crosse “River City Revolution”
Year two of the combined La Crosse show choir project was reminiscent of the best seasons from both Central and Logan before the consolidation. RCR dispatched the fields at Tomah and Eau Claire Memorial for vocals/choreo wins and was the only choir all season to beat Bloomington Kennedy, doing so at Onalaska. Two challenging Iowa competitions yielded a sixth at Ankeny Centennial and a fourth at Western Dubuque. The collective team of directors Ian Schultz and Adam Carty, choreographers Lexi Robson Buglewicz and Braxton Carr, and arranger Steve Shanley has proven to be a recipe for success in this newfangled situation.
3. De Pere “Jam Session” (1 first-place vote)
De Pere flew high in 2026, using literal prop propellers to land its Top Gun show three grand championships. There’s a case that 2026 was the most successful season in program history – two big wins over Waconia, cleaning up locally, with the only blemishes being a vocals/choreo runner-up at Monona Grove and a third at Marion, Iowa behind two regional powers. The four-year members of 2026’s large senior class wrapped their time with nine grand champions, by far the most in a four-year span in program history. Starting in 2027, it will be time for the next generation to keep the eastern side of the state on lockdown.
4. Sauk Prairie “Executive Session”
The 2026 season was nothing if not a consistent one for Sauk Prairie, who placed fourth twice, third twice, second once, and took a Grand Championship. Executive Session’s Come from Away show was arguably its best since 2023. The season was plenty exciting to go along with being good; a no-caption win over De Pere at Monona Grove was the ensemble’s first grand championship since that same event three years ago, the group mixed it up with some of Mississippi’s best on the Gulf Coast to end the season, and Sam Roberts ended his career with three more solo captions to bring his total up to an even ten.
5. Sparta “Upstage Adrenaline”
The momentum continued at Sparta in 2026, lighting the torch on their Olympics-themed show to keep its meteoric rise this decade going. Upstage nabbed a trio of runner-up finishes, including an upset of Onalaska to begin the season at Holmen. After making finals or placing at all seven of its competitions this season, Sparta now claims an 11-competition finals/placement streak. It’s a well-earned streak, outpacing 2026 grand champion winners Bemidji and Briarwood throughout the season and representing Wisconsin well in tough Minnesota contests at Bloomington Kennedy and Waconia. How far will the rise continue this decade? There are three more seasons to find out.
6. Monona Grove “Silver Connection”
Looking to shed the vestiges of a somewhat streaky 2025 season in which Silver C missed finals twice, Monona Grove got their moxie back and returned to old form in 2026. Sporting a numbers-themed show reminiscent of some mid-2010s MG productions, the choir converted on early finals appearances at Onalaska and Milton before taking a split-caption win at De Pere over the two groups directly below it on this list for its fourth win of the decade. Finishing right behind La Crosse at Western Dubuque and Wheaton Warrenville South at Janesville Craig to close the season proved Monona can be a serious challenge to some potent groups in the future.
7. New London “Vision”
Following an emphatic lighthouse season in 2025, 2026 was supposed to be a bit of a rebuild year for New London. It suffices to say that the season exceeded expectations in that regard. Vision notched a trio of third-place finishes and a pair of fifth-place finishes with highlights all around. Among those were qualifying into finals from a very deep field at Sauk Prairie and claiming what may very well be the group’s first-ever Best Choreography award at De Pere. The tide continues to rise for New London, and if the cards fall the right way, Vision’s maiden grand championship may come in the not-too-distant future.
8. Preble “Center Stage”
Preble’s season grew as it went on in 2026, becoming what has become a trademark Center Stage season this decade – perhaps not the favorite at any competition they enter, but always ending up surprising some people along the way in the conversation. A fourth at Sparta early in the season established the group as a contender; a second at De Pere over New London put the entire state on notice. A fourth (and Best Band) at Monona Grove over Reedsburg and Neenah solidified the success the group spent all season working towards.
9. Reedsburg “Choraliers”
A very large Choraliers ensemble took to the seas and the competition stage in 2026, although there were no lighthouses involved. The boat was able to handle the waves well, as Reedsburg was sixth to start the season at Holmen and third at a deep Sparta competition, painting over some finals misses early in 2025. Choraliers rounded into form in February, reaching the podium at Eau Claire Memorial and La Crosse and solidifying their top-ten status by making finals at Monona Grove. Hal LeMaster also claimed a pair of Best Soloist captions; he remains one of the incumbent favorites for that same caption at competitions in 2027.
10. Tomah “Limited Edition”
Now two seasons removed from its incredible run in 2024, Limited Edition continued to show that it will not be leaving the ranks of the state’s contenders. Its family reunion show, complete with a boisterous potato sack race set to House of Pain’s cult classic “Jump Around,” earned fifth at New London, third at Altoona and fourth at Sauk Prairie in the month of January. After that, Limited made a dash to get out of Wisconsin, placing fourth at North St. Paul in Minnesota and third at Cedar Rapids Jefferson in Iowa. True to form, Tomah also collected a trio of spirit award captions during the season.
11. Neenah “Vintage”
Neenah was a bit of a smaller ensemble this year, with membership in the mid-30s, and perhaps punched above its size for most of the season. Vintage converted on all of its in-state competition opportunities, making finals at all of Holmen, De Pere, Fort Atkinson and Monona Grove with its star-themed show. After Monona Grove, the group boasted a 12-competition finals streak before competing at the nationally-competitive Wheaton Warrenville South near Chicago to end the season. With two very consistent seasons behind it, the next step for Vintage is to start putting itself in contention for some wins.
12. Eau Claire North “Northernaires”
The undisputed breakout darling of Wisconsin this year was Eau Claire North. After a sole finals appearance in 2024 and a pair in 2025, Northernaires jumped to four in 2026 and were a very dangerous outfit. The culmination and most visible part of this was the group’s maiden Grand Championship at Medford, outscoring St. Francis, Eau Claire Memorial, Chippewa Falls and others for a sweep win. There was also the runner-up at Altoona over Tomah (also with a band caption) and solid placements at Tomah and Memorial. In a northwest scene that seems to cycle every year, the onus is now on North to hold the region’s top spot for a second straight season.
13. Milton “Choralation”
The toy box is full of unique and surprising toys, and so was the story of Choralation in 2026. A strong fourth at New London to kick off the season yielded to a finals miss at De Pere; a rebound fifth at Fort Atkinson yielded to a finals miss at Monona Grove before a sixth at Craig rounded out the season. At its best, Choralation remains a potent ensemble with potential to challenge the top five names in the state, and having memorable shows like a Toy Story retelling will help the group to establish its identity during the waning years of the decade.
14. Holmen “Midwest Express”
There were celebrations aplenty in Midwest Express’ birthday-themed show, and the biggest ones came early in the season. The group’s pair of finals appearances came in southwest Wisconsin, notching sixth both at Onalaska and Sauk Prairie. At Sauk, Holmen outdueled Reedsburg, Fort Atkinson and others to transfer into the evening round, echoing an eerily similar clutch finals pull over Reedsburg and Sparta at that same event in 2024. The choir was left on the outside looking in at events in Iowa and Minnesota as well as at Janesville Craig. However, they certainly left audiences with plenty of memories with their raucous rendition of hip-hopper 50 Cent’s “In da Club.”
15. Fort Atkinson “South High Street Singers”
Placements aside, one of the most fun shows of 2026 has to be South High. An upbeat and charming Wisconsin-themed production included Beer Barrel Polka, famous at Milwaukee Brewers games, On, Wisconsin!, and Go Pack Go, indulging even the most casual of sports fans in the audience. Mired in deep events early in the season, Fort didn’t make finals until Feb. 28 at Davenport West in Iowa, but ended the season on a very nice come-up at Janesville Craig, placing fourth over seventh-ranked New London and Milton. Director Kiah Snow has departed the program, and Whitewater native Adam Triebold is the new director for 2027.
16. DeForest “DeFortes”
DeFortes’ first full varsity season in 2025 began and ended without any finals appearances. That was not the case in 2026, as the choir exploded onto the radar with a fifth at Sparta, a competition where six open division groups didn’t make finals. That was followed up with a fourth at Eau Claire Memorial, the best placement in group history up to this point. Lyrica Daentl has brought DeForest from a very small prep group in 2021 to a varsity group making finals in deep fields in 2026; combined with the school’s rapidly growing enrollment, all pieces are in place for the momentum to keep going.
17. Hamilton “Synergy”
Following a midseason director change in 2025, Hannah Ramsey had a full offseason to bring Synergy into its next era for 2026, introducing Alex Schultz as choreographer after over a decade of Ellie Jordan’s visuals. Sporting a home-themed show in 2026, Hamilton appeared at a trio of competitions that counted at least a dozen groups in open class. The one time that wasn’t the case? De Pere, where Synergy avenged a tough 2024 finals miss at that competition to place fifth ahead of Bay Port and 13th-ranked Milton. Hamilton returns Schultz as choreographer for 2027 and looks to have a Lego-inspired show.
18. Bay Port “Pandemonious”
Still a very new name in the Wisconsin show choir scene, Bay Port made the jump up to the varsity division in 2026 after running the table in the prep division in 2025. The ensemble tackled a space-themed show for its first season in the big leagues and also blasted off to four competitions, the most Pandemonious has ever taken on. The group’s success came near home base, however, placing sixth at De Pere to make finals for the first time as a varsity choir. That was followed by a third-place showing at a snow-impacted Green Bay Southwest event, outpacing eighth-ranked Preble for the final podium spot.
19. Eau Claire Memorial “Old Abe Show Choir”
The Old Abes were once again a core part of the northwestern scene in 2026, hosting the region’s biggest competition and clocking in third at Medford to cap off the season. That third was OASC’s highest placement since Holmen in 2016, a good decade and two directors ago, and was nice consolation for seeing a nine-competition finals streak snapped at the beginning of the season. Memorial also notched a sixth-place showing at Sparta, outgunning the two groups directly below them on this list to do so and pushing them into the teens at the end-of-season rankings.
20. Janesville Craig “Spotlighters”
Despite Michael Stanek joining Spots as choreographer, becoming the group’s fifth choreographer in the past four seasons, 2026 was a season that Craig got its footing steady in Kari Rasmussen’s second season at the helm. Spotlighters joined a glut of choirs that partook in early-season battles at Onalaska, Sparta and Sauk Prairie in January. The season turned for them in February, placing sixth at Fort Atkinson and snagging Best Band. That marked both the first finals appearance and first Best Band caption for the group since El Paso-Gridley, Ill., on Feb. 18, 2023.
21. West Salem “Salem Singsations”
When it rains, sometimes it pours. A year after making finals at all but one of its competitions, Salem Singsations took its rain-themed show to competitive events this year, only making finals once. That included a trip to Hastings, Minn. to close out the season, brushing up against several of Minnesota’s best outfits. However, there was still a sixth-place effort at Eau Claire Memorial, continuing a good run at that competition dating back to 2019 and continuing an eight-season streak of making finals at least once during the season.
22. Chippewa Falls “Chi-Hi Harmonics”
The 2026 season was a local affair for Chippewa Falls, as the group competed at all three of the northwest competitions (alongside a jaunt to Holmen to open the season). The ensemble’s show about baking a cake yielded some sweet fruits, as Harmonics brought home sixth at Altoona and fourth at Medford. Chi-Hi now banks five finals appearances in the past two years and boasted an impressive membership count during the 2026 season. That has led to the genesis of Dynamics, a womens prep show choir out of Chippewa Falls that will compete during the 2027 season.
23. Plymouth “Momentum”
Once again sporting one of the more unique shows in the state, Momentum’s 2026 production used campfire stories as a façade to explore the deep emotions within the human mind. Plymouth was once again an early competitor, racking up three competitions in January. The group also took arguably the biggest trip in group history, brushing up against multiple national powerhouses at Waukee Northwest in Iowa. The group closed 2026 by placing fourth at La Crosse, their first finals appearance there since a third-place showing at what was then the Logan Showcase in 2023.
24. Mayville “Cardinal Singers”
It was a season filled with intense competition for Mayville, who attended five competitions in a tight six-week span between Jan. 17 and Feb. 21. Cardinal Singers ran one of the harder competition schedules in the state, bumping up against almost all of Wisconsin’s top ten as well as out-of-state contenders from Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. Mayville did not take home any placements or captions all season, but showed itself as a staple group that was part of what made those competition fields so deep. Cardinal Singers’ “Up”-themed show in 2026 will hopefully provide the group with the direction it wants to head in 2027.
25. Altoona “Locomotion”
Locomotion started the season off with a tough run, competing at Tomah, Onalaska and Eau Claire Memorial without making finals. However, Altoona’s rich-themed set made its money in the late-season goings. A finals appearance at Medford on Feb. 28 was Locomotion’s first evening round since Tomah in January 2025, and the group followed it up by making finals again at Totino-Grace the following week to close out the season. It was the first time Altoona made finals twice in a season since 2020 and the first time Locomotion made finals in back-to-back weeks since Eau Claire Memorial and Logan in 2009.
Receiving Votes: Ashwaubenon “Encore”
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