The top-end battles did not disappoint! Take a look at who came out on top in some of the most competitive contests this weekend:
Brownsburg Bulldog Spectacular
Final Results
GC: Carmel “Ambassadors” (BV/BC)
1RU: Franklin Central “F.C. Singers”
2RU: Zionsville “Royalaires” (BB)
3RU: Fishers “Electrum”
4RU: Lafayette Jefferson “First Edition”
This may just be one of the years that will go down in history for the Carmel Ambassadors. They have won competitions in five consecutive weekends, something that rarely (if ever) happens in the show choir world. Carmel hasn’t lost a choreography caption all year and have claimed three Best Soloist awards, a Best Costume award and a Most Creative Show award. With Ambassadors absent from the ISSMA State Finals lineup, this may be it for them barring a surprise trip to the FAME National Finals. If so, what a year it has been. Franklin Central remains undefeated this year when not facing Carmel and is the top dog in the ISSMA State Finals this weekend. Zionsville has now won Best Band at eight straight competitions dating back to 2020. Other division winners include Winfield (small mixed), Carmel Accents (large womens), and Winfield Emerald Elegance (small womens).
Hart Encore
Advanced Mixed Large Results
1st: Los Alamitos “Sound FX”
2nd: John Burroughs “Powerhouse” (Music/Show)
Advanced Mixed Small Winner: La Cueva “Underground”
Intermediate Mixed Session Winners: Oceanside “Soundwaves” and Valley Vista “Vocal Thunder”
Novice Mixed Session Winners: Saugus “Blue Heat” and Shadow Ridge “Stellar FX”
2023 is shaping up to be another typical year of California advanced show choir. One week over Los Alamitos started strong with a musicianship and showmanship win over John Burroughs, Powerhouse grabs both captions and a first-place ranking from all five judges at Hart. The catch? Burroughs had enough of a time penalty to drag them under Sound FX. The two groups will go their own ways for the next month before reconvening at Oceanside at the end of the season for what promises to be an epic showdown that also will include Burbank. In advanced mixed small, La Cueva takes the division win and the musicianship award in their only competition appearance of the season. They are tentatively scheduled to host their own invitational the same weekend as Oceanside. Diamond Bar, who took showmanship, has taken at least one major caption in each of their three competitions this year. Oceanside also cleans up in intermediate mixed before traveling across the country to Waltham, Massachusetts in April.
Heart of America Nashville
Final Results
GC: Center Grove “Sound System” (BV)
1RU: Brandon “Brio” (BC)
2RU: Westside “Amazing Technicolor Show Choir”
3RU: Mitchell “Friend de Coup” (BB)
Womens Finals
GC: Center Grove “Debtones” (BV/BC)
1RU: Tupelo “Synergy”
The only two groups that Center Grove has lost to this year are Carmel and Franklin Central. If that doesn’t tell you about the strength of the Indianapolis show choir circuit, I don’t know what does. Sound System held off the South’s closest competitor to Clinton this year as well as the best that Nebraska and South Dakota have to offer. Credit to Brandon where it is due for making it a close one, putting the entire country on notice that they are serious about being the next big thing in the South. In third place, Westside evens the season score on Mitchell after Friend de Coup beat ATSC at Omaha South in mid-February. Mitchell’s streak of band awards now stands at three. In the womens finals, Center Grove has now won five of their last six competitions, and they did it in an impressive manner over Tupelo, who has finished as high as second overall in Southern competitions this season.
Wheaton Warrenville South Choral Classic
Final Results
GC: Wheaton North “Flight” (BV/BB)
1RU: Mt. Zion “Swingsations” (BC)
2RU: Troy Buchanan “Express”
3RU: Naperville North “Entourage”
4RU: Waubonsie Valley “Sound Check”
5RU: Keller Central “Voices of Central”
The list of groups that Wheaton North lost to this year is as follows: Wheaton Warrenville South and Clinton. The groups that Flight has beat this year? WWS, Mt. Zion, Naperville North, Troy Buchanan, El Paso-Gridley, Waubonsie Valley, etc. If Carmel is having the most special of seasons, Wheaton North has got to be in that conversation as well. In second place, Mt. Zion claims its first major caption since winning at Danville on February 4. They will take a week off and then head to Show Choir Nationals. Troy Buchanan and Naperville North also have incredible shows this year; this concludes Naperville North’s season while Troy Buchanan will be at Mitchell this weekend. Waubonsie Valley notches another low-finals placement in a competition season that has seen a lot of top-tier competition this year, and Keller Central grabs the last finalist spot in their yearly out-of-Texas trip. Neosho is the lone varsity group that did not make finals, showing the absolute depth of this field.
Make sure to come back midweek for another edition of Comps of the Week!
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