Comps of the Week Recap: 3/15/25

Westside caps the Doran Johnson era in the most fitting way possible, Millard West closes their season with a win, and Center Grove and Daniel Hand take wins into national competitions this weekend.

Bishop Hendricken Lil’ Rhody Rumble

Results

Large Mixed: 1st) Daniel Hand “VIBE” (BV) 2nd) Waltham “Music Unlimited” (BC/BB) 3rd) Pendleton Heights “Emerald Suites”

Small Mixed: 1st) Scranton “First Edition” (BV/BC/BB) 2nd) Hillsborough “Legacy” 3rd) Waltham “Music Express”

Single-Gender: 1st) Pendleton Heights “Emerald Suites” (BV/BC) 2nd) Shepherd Hill “Illusion” (BB) 3rd) Scranton “Glitter & Gold”

After a big showdown at Somerset Berkley that resulted in Daniel Hand taking its first win of the season, another split-caption bout ensued at Rhody with VIBE again taking the top spot. Waltham is clearly still right there, taking two captions. Pendleton Heights, a group that usually competes in the small division in its native Indiana, made the jump up to large mixed and cleared the rest of the field, beating South Windsor, Lowell, and others. Scranton finished out its competition season with another small-division win after placing in overall finals at its two previous competitions in Ohio and Virginia. Hillsborough, a second-year competitive group from New Jersey, notched its first-ever placement in New England. Pendleton reigned supreme in single-gender, and Shepherd Hill Illusion, who was not competing alongside the mixed group Fantasy, took its first placement of the season in second place.

Fairfield Crystal Classic

Final Results

Large Mixed Finals: GC) Center Grove “Sound System” 1RU) Zionsville “Royalaires” (BV/BB) 2RU) Marysville “Swingers Unlimited” 3RU) Loveland “By Request” 4RU) Grove City “Touch of Class”

Small Mixed Finals: GC) Ross “Legacy” (BV/BC) 1RU) Buckeye Valley “Visions” 2RU) Ravenswood “Rave Revue” 3RU) South Dearborn “Opening Knight” (BB) 4RU) Sissonville “Touch of Class” 5RU) Pike “Encores”

Single-Gender Finals: GC) Center Grove “Debtones” (BV/BC) 1RU) Zionsville “Choralaires” (BB) 2RU) Marysville “Swingers Select”

Center Grove ultimately prevailed in both divisions, but the race in large mixed was tighter than many expected. While they did take two supporting captions, Best Show Design and Best Soloist, it was the first time in 20 years that Sound System won without vocals, choreography, or band. Zionsville has not won yet this year but has a string of second-place finishes to Franklin Central and Center Grove. Marysville, one of the best choirs Ohio has to offer this year, swiped choreography from both of those groups, proving that they can move with the best in the country. The paths for all three will diverge from here on out, as Center Grove finishes at Heart of America Los Angeles this weekend, Zionsville rounds out their season at Show Choir Nationals this weekend, and Marysville heads to Oceanside in two weeks. Loveland jumping Grove City in the order was a big achievement for By Request, who has seen a good bit of success in March. In small mixed, Ross proved their claim to one of the top spots in the division, but Buckeye Valley was the real star, ripping off a performance reminiscent of their two-win 2023 season. Marysville Swingers Select making finals over Loveland Allure was a big occasion for that group, as well.

Wheaton Warrenville South Choral Classic

Final Results

GC: Westside “Amazing Technicolor Show Choir” (BV/BC/BB)

1RU: Mitchell “Friend de Coup”

2RU: Wheaton North “Flight”

3RU: Lafayette Jefferson “First Edition”

4RU: Troy Buchanan “Express”

5RU: El Paso-Gridley “Modulations”

It was only fitting that a Westside sweep would be the last competition record of Doran Johnson’s storied career. ATSC absolutely rose to the occasion, improving their show by multiple notches in between prelims and finals for an evening performance that left little doubt who would win. Mitchell brought its show about euphoria to a second national-level competition this year and continued to show that it is still a Midwest giant, placing above a potent Wheaton North ensemble. Fourth is Lafayette Jefferson’s first finish below second this year, but it comes at a worthy competition filled with contenders from around the region. Troy has run the gauntlet the past two weeks and proved themselves twice; Express is still the top-tier group they have always been. Despite being a late entry and dealing with a relatively early timeslot, El Paso-Gridley established a decent gap between them and the rest of the field to take the sixth spot in prelims and catch a finals berth at Choral Classic after not placing last year. Mt. Zion was the first choir out of finals, followed by Waubonsie Valley, Diamond Bar, and Glenwood. In the single-gender division, it again was Westside, followed by Mt. Zion Les Femmes, Lafayette Jefferson Expressions and Mt. Zion You’ve Got Male.

Wildcard: Millard North Galaxy of the Stars

Final Results

GC: Millard West “West in the Groove” (BV/BC/BB)

1RU: Ankeny Centennial “Spectrum”

2RU: Pius X “Spectrum”

3RU: Keller Central “Voices of Central”

4RU: Ankeny Centennial “Vortex”

5RU: Millard West “Uptown”

WIG claimed its fourth win of the season, and it was against yet another S-tier contending group. Ankeny Centennial is having a resurgent season, claiming two wins in a tight mid-Iowa scene, and yet Millard West was simply the class of the field. While the season is done for WIG, Ankeny Centennial will compete at Heart of America Orlando on March 29 against Prairie, Findlay, and Carroll. In a meeting of Spectrum groups, Pius came out on the losing end, but as their season wraps up, they pieced together another solid season, never dropping off the podium. Keller Central came into this competition as the third Texas group to travel to the Midwest this season; despite a home-state competition record of thirds and fourths, they were a solid third runner-up at Millard North. Whether that says more about the strength of the Texas scene or the relatively small number of varsity groups here is open for interpretation, but VOC put plenty of people on notice with a performance that was better than what many were expecting. Vortex has now been third, fourth, fifth, and sixth this season, an impressive straight for a single-gender group competing in varsity mixed divisions. Uptown notched its second finals appearance of the season after also placing sixth to begin their season at Omaha Westside.

As the season closes for many groups, there are still several national-level showdowns yet to be had, including Show Choir Nationals, other regional events, and state-specific competitions. Get the lowdown on everything happening this weekend in Comps of the Week later this week.