With so much talent on the stage this past weekend, there were plenty of finals placements to go around!
Bishop Heelan Crusader Classic
Final Results
GC: Mitchell “Friend de Coup” (BV/BC/BB)
1RU: Gretna “Revolution”
2RU: Papillion-La Vista “Free Spirit”
3RU: Aberdeen Central “Eagle Express”
4RU: Sioux City East “The Headliners”
5RU: Papillion-La Vista “Monarchy”
After starting the competition season out with a second-place finish to Johnston, Mitchell has come into its own, scoring two straight wins. Gretna nabbed its second straight second-place finish and beat Papio for the first time since 2019 in the process. James Rasser has now won Best Male Soloist for Free Spirit in all five competitions that they have entered this year. Aberdeen Central, while last of the four major players in this competition, still comes home with a very solid finish, and the Headliners place about where everybody expected them to be. A shoutout is in order for Papio Monarchy, who beat out a host of other groups to take the last finals spot. It is Monarchy’s third finals berth of 2023.
Franklin Central Hoosier Show Choir Classic
Final Results
GC: Carmel “Ambassadors” (BC/BB)
1RU: Center Grove “Sound System” (BV)
2RU: Fishers “Electrum”
3RU: Brownsburg “Spotlight Singers & Company”
4RU: Mt. Zion “Swingsations”
What a finals this was! Carmel comes out on top again of another heavyweight Indiana battle. It is their third win of the year; they are undefeated so far in 2023. Center Grove is clearly not far behind, claiming their second vocals caption of the year. Fishers continues to establish itself as a very legitimate large mixed group in Indiana, coming home as the middle of five groups in finals. Brownsburg tied with Fishers in prelims and finishes fourth. Mt. Zion gives Illinois representation in finals and beats out Lafayette Jefferson to do so. The womens finals were nearly the same story, with Carmel winning with vocals and band, Center Grove second with choreo, Fishers third and Brownsburg fourth.
Hastings Swingin’ on the River
Final Results
GC: Urbandale “Studio” (BV/BC/BB)
1RU: Papillion-La Vista South “Titanium”
2RU: Bloomington Kennedy “Rhythm in Gold”
3RU: Prairie “The Ambassadors”
4RU: Bemidji “Vocalmotive”
5RU: St. Francis “Bridge Street Singers”
It took a choir from Iowa to do it, but Bloomington Kennedy has finally been defeated in 2023. Urbandale comes into Hastings, survives two different fire alarms going off, and walks out with first in prelims, first in finals, and all three major caption awards. Titanium nabs their third second-place finish of the season, and RIG rounded out the podium. Sophia Hanson has now won three straight soloist awards for RIG. In a rare moment of lucidity, Barstool correctly predicted the last three finalists for this competition. In a season that has been filled with really tough competitions, Prairie comes out with a very solid fourth-place finish. Bemidji climbs above St. Francis in a rematch of last weekend at Waconia in the bottom third of finals, a nice sign of progress for the group. To its credit, St. Francis proves that it is an emerging contender in the Minnesota circuit just by qualifying for finals.
Norris Fields of Talent
Final Results
GC: Lincoln East “Express” (BC/BB)
1RU: Lincoln Southwest “Resonance” (BV)
2RU: Elkhorn South “Blackout”
3RU: Millard North “Infinity”
4RU: Elkhorn North “adrENaline”
5RU: Hastings “Uncaged”
For the second time this year and fourth time in the last two years, Lincoln East gets the best of Lincoln Southwest in a battle of the two best show choirs in Lincoln. The energy and sharpness in the back half of the Express set are, indeed, very hard to equal. In the undercard battle of the Elkhorns, Elkhorn South once again places two spots ahead of Elkhorn North. Three weeks ago, Blackout took first and adrENaline was third at Elkhorn. Sandwiched in between the two this time was Millard North, whose Lily Ginsburg has now won four straight best soloist awards. Rounding out the finals was Hastings, who parlayed a third-place finish and three captions at Wahoo last weekend into a finals berth at Norris.
Ross Legacy Championship
Final Results
GC: Findlay “First Edition” (BV/BC)
1RU: Loveland “By Request” (BB)
2RU: Piqua “The Company”
3RU: Fairfield “Choraliers”
4RU: Olentangy “Keynotes”
5RU: Loveland “Allure”
The Indianapolis metro scene deservedly gets a lot of hype, but put some respect on Ohio for goodness sake! In the words of a parent at Ross, Findlay’s show was “like Broadway”. Loveland has perhaps had one of the quietest years of the Ohio powers but comes out strong and takes first runner-up away from Piqua, who remains one of the hottest groups in Ohio. Fairfield continues to make a resurgence, coming back after temporary turbulence following the departure of Mark Mercer. Olentangy is a crowd favorite and while they came out on the back end of an epic battle, there is nothing to be ashamed of. Loveland Allure has now made finals at all four of its competitions this year, two in mixed finals and two in womens finals.
Southeast Polk Rhythm and Music Showcase
Final Results
GC: Johnston “Innovation” (BV/BC)
1RU: Valley “Choralation” (BB)
2RU: Ankeny “Visual Adrenaline”
3RU: Ankeny Centennial “Spectrum”
4RU: Johnston “Synergy”
5RU: Dallas Center-Grimes “Momentum”
The question is not ‘is Johnston a national power this year?’, it is ‘where does Johnston slot in among the national powers this year?’. Innovation has beaten some of the best that Nebraska and Iowa has to offer this year, and elite performer Taevian Pope now has three straight soloist awards. With its original season finale FAME Chicago being cancelled, Innovation will now close at the FAME National Finals in April. If so, what a ride it has been. Valley makes a statement as well, taking home their third second-place finish of 2023. For the first time since the split in 2012, Ankeny topples the newer Ankeny Centennial, with Visual Adrenaline also picking up the People’s Choice award. Johnston Synergy continues to be one of the premier prep groups in the entire country, making finals for the first time this year. Dallas Center-Grimes is another group that put on a good show, beating Norwalk to make finals and really come into its own as a 4A choir that plays for keeps.
It will be March by the time that the next edition of Comps of the Week will be posted! Check midweek for the best that next weekend has to offer!
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