By William Soquet, Editor-in-Chief
Two groups continued very successful undefeated seasons, three Nebraska groups pillaged a Minnesota event, and an Iowa group emerged victorious at a Nebraska competition.
Franklin Central Hoosier Show Choir Classic
Final Results
Large Mixed: 1st) Center Grove “Sound System” (BV/BC) 2nd) Carmel “Ambassadors” 3rd) Fishers “Electrum” 4th) Waltham “Music Unlimited” (BB) 5th) Troy Buchanan “Express”
Large Womens: 1st) Center Grove “Debtones” (BV) 2nd) Fishers “Sound” 3rd) Carmel “Accents” (BC/BB)
Center Grove has now seemingly cleared every hurdle they need to in order to secure another undefeated season. Their first matchup of the year with Carmel and Fishers resulted in Sound System claiming both vocals and choreo, paving the way for another win. Fishers held strong in third, defending their home turf from all the travelers. Waltham gave New England a performance to be proud of, placing highest of the visitors. Troy Buchanan kept their finals streak alive (it now sits at 41 for comps that had a finals round) and placed fifth ahead of Glenwood and New Castle. In the womens division, Fishers Sound lost for the first time since 2023. Debtones made it a sparkling Saturday for Center Grove, as both varsity-level groups now sit atop their respective divisions in Indiana. Carmel Accents, with their Cages or Wings show, was a very close third, taking two of the three major captions. Debtones and Sound will rematch this weekend at Pendleton Heights.
Hastings Swingin’ on the River
Final Results
GC) Millard West “West in the Groove” (BC/BB)
1RU) Omaha Westside “Amazing Technicolor Show Choir” (BV)
2RU) Papillion-La Vista South “Titanium“
3RU) Bloomington Kennedy “Rhythm in Gold”
4RU) Bloomington Jefferson “Jefferson Connection”
5RU) Bemidji “Vocalmotive”
In their third competition of the season, WIG took their second win of the year. They did so in an impressive fashion, toppling two longtime rivals two states away. Millard West out-Stephen Todded fellow Toddler group Westside to take the choreo caption and also nabbed Best Band for the third time in their last four competitions. Westside still put up a valiant effort; they will take two weeks off before closing their season at Wheaton Warrenville South. Papio South made it an all-Nebraska podium. Bloomington Kennedy was tops of the local groups – they haven’t had as successful of a season this year as in past seasons but are still making a nice go of it. At the bottom of finals, Bloomington Jefferson moved past Bemidji for the first time this season in the third meeting between the two groups. The womens division was a repeat of the mixed division, with Millard West, Omaha Westside, and Papio South taking the top three spots in that order.
Homestead Classic Showcase
Final Results
Large Mixed: GC) Solon “Music in Motion” (BV -tie-/BB) 1RU) Lafayette Jefferson “First Edition” (BV -tie-) 2RU) Carroll “Magic” (BC) 3RU) Noblesville “NHS Singers” 4RU) Huntington North “Varsity Singers”
Large Womens: 1st) Brownsburg “Starlight Voices” 2nd) Noblesville “New Dimension” (BV/BB) 3rd) Carroll “Select Sound” (BC)
Many wondered how Solon would do traveling to a loaded competition outside their home state as they attempted to complete an undefeated season. The answer is that they did very well, taking home the win and finishing undefeated for the first time since 2012. Lafayette Jefferson still has not dropped the vocals caption so far this year, making them a very credible threat in the later season. Fresh off emerging on the national stage with a third at Chesterton, Carroll repeated that placement at Homestead. Huntington North, reeling from a raw loss to North Royalton at Kenton, made finals in a nice comeback effort. One of the most intriguing contrasts of the day was the results of the two Brownsburg groups. Spotlight Singers & Company missed finals. Save for an error that inadvertently left them out of finals at Show Choir Nationals last season, it was the first time since 2016 that the group failed to make the evening round. Starlight Voices barely made the womens finals, but came on strong in finals to take a no-caption win, as captions were awarded off daytime scores. Churubusco and Columbia City came out on top of small mixed and womens finals, respectively.
Wildcard: Omaha South Classic
Final Results
GC: Johnston “Innovation” (BV/BC/BB)
1RU: Pius X “Spectrum”
2RU: Millard North “Infinity”
3RU: Grand Island “Ultimate Image”
4RU: Sioux Falls Roosevelt “Executive Suite”
5RU: Keller “Blue Lights”
Up at the top, Johnston claimed its second win in Nebraska, the first being 2023’s UNL Midwest Cup. Behind them, it was quite the gambit between a handful of groups. Pius now has a pair of second-place finishes on the year, although they will likely put themselves in the win column at Lincoln Northeast this weekend. Millard North notched their highest placing of the year to close their competitive season, although they will host Galaxy of the Stars to close the overall Nebraska season on March 15. Grand Island traveled to Omaha for the second time this season and improved a spot from the last time they competed in the metro. Sioux Falls Roosevelt has turned their season around – after missing finals at their first two competitions, they now have a second and a fifth to their name. While Keller was unable to improve on the final placings of other Texas groups that have attended Omaha South in the past, their Best Ballad caption should certainly put Midwest groups on notice should they choose to travel to Nebraska again next season.
Next weekend’s best action will feature action in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska, so be sure to get the 4-1-1 on those competitions later in the week.