Comps of the Week Recap: 3/29/2025

A California battle of epic proportions, a breakthrough West Virginia win, an Indiana choir establishes a win streak, and a Mississippi group bookends the season with success.

Brandon Show Choir Elite

Overall Results

1st: Northwest Rankin (BV/BC/Best Overall Production)

2nd: Jackson Academy “Encore”

3rd: Mt. Zion “Swingsations”

4th: Madison Central “Reveille”

5th: Jackson Prep “Reveillon”

The southern season has officially come to a close, and Northwest Rankin firmly cemented itself as a program that had a great season. The Ambassadors won their first competition of the season in late January and capped their season with a win at Elite. Jackson Academy started their season by placing second to Northwest Rankin… and ended it in the exact same fashion. However, they did get one back on Mt. Zion, as JA missed finals at Glenwood while Swings were second there. This is the first winless season for MTZ since 2015, as the group endured an up-and-down year. Jackson Prep’s results this year read as follows: fifth, fifth, fifth, fifth. Reveillon is nothing if not consistent. In middle mixed, South Jones took one more battle over Northeast Jones to settle that score. In small mixed, Pisgah stood firm over Rome, who was previously undefeated in division this season.

Heart of America Orlando

Final Results

GC: Carroll “Magic” (BV)

1RU: Ankeny Centennial “Spectrum” (BC)

2RU: Findlay “First Edition”

3RU: Prairie “The Ambassadors” (BB)

4RU: Tarpon Springs “Syndicated Sound”

Sometimes, it’s all about peaking at the right time. With a win here, Magic closed its season on a run of three consecutive wins. They came over big names – Ankeny Centennial here, Brownsburg at Noblesville, and Chesterton at Norwell. Spectrum, meanwhile, started off the season with two straight wins but closed with a third and a pair of runner-up finishes. Further down the card, Findlay notched its third consecutive third-place showing, a solid baseline for the ensemble in year one with an entirely new creative team. Prairie shook out in last of the major choirs, but they did take their second Best Band award of the season, marking five of six competitions this year that The Ambassadors won at least one major or minor caption. In the womens division, Ankeny Centennial Vortex took a two-caption win over Carroll Select Sound. It was a ringing endorsement for Iowa’s only “varsity-level” single-gender group, as they showed that they can perform at the level of an Indiana varsity-level group as well.

Martinsburg The American Classic

Overall Results

1st: Jefferson “Pop Singers” (BV/BC/BB)

2nd: Sissonville “Touch of Class”

3rd: Tuscarora “Titan Tempo”

A years-long building effort has come to fruition for the Jefferson Pop Singers, as the Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia-based ensemble took home its first win in an extended period of time, likely multiple decades. Pop Singers completed a commanding seven-caption win, the highlight of a season that also included a runner-up finish to Solon at Twinsburg and placing behind only Martinsburg and Manchester at Robert C. Byrd. Director Hannah Kelvington-Myers and choreographer Danielle Danson have been a constant team since the pandemic, and this year’s Clue-themed show competed in three different states. Sissonville’s Isaac Cobb won yet another soloist award, capping off a run where the senior won that award in a majority of events that Touch of Class competed in. Tuscarora, a steady presence at The American Classic, beat Grafton and Frederick to take the final spot on the podium.

Oceanside Sound-Off

Results

Advanced Mixed 1: 1st) Los Alamitos “Sound FX” 2nd) John Burroughs “Powerhouse” (Show) 3rd) Burbank “In Sync” (Music) 4th) Marysville “Swingers Unlimited” 5th) John F. Kennedy “Executive Order”

Advanced Mixed 2 Large Group: 1st) Diamond Bar “Marquis” (Show) 2nd) Cypress “High Voltage” 3rd) Carlsbad “Encore” (Music) 4th) Valley Vista “Vocal Thunder” 5th) La Cueva “Underground”

Advanced Mixed 2 Small Group: 1st) Brea Olinda “Masquerade” (Music) 2nd) Hart “Sound Vibrations” (Show) 3rd) Bonita Vista “The Music Machine”

The margins between California’s Big Three are always razor-thin, and this was simply another example of that. Los Alamitos has now won three straight Sound-Off events. While they won 2023 and 2024 with the showmanship caption, there were no captions involved this time. It must have been a sweet victory for Los Al, who had to claw back from a prelims deficit just to place second this past week at Show Choir Nationals. Burroughs wrapped up its season in tremendous fashion, battling it out with the best that the region has to offer. This was Powerhouse’s first matchup with either Los Alamitos or Burbank this year, and first competition appearance since March 8. Burbank took music for the third year in a row at Sound-Off, a solid encore to a sweep win at Valley Vista earlier in March. In Sync and Sound FX will battle it out at the John Burroughs Music Showcase this weekend. Marysville was unable to crack the top three, but at a competition like this, a top-fifteen group in the country just has to finish fourth.

In the second division, another crazy caption split ensued. Diamond Bar took its first division win since Burbank in 2023. Behind them was Cypress, a group that just moved up to advanced this year. Behind them was Carlsbad, a group that just moved up to advanced this week. Valley Vista, making its first California appearance of the year, was fourth, and La Cueva, who appeared to have momentum following a finals berth at Valley Vista, rounded out the division. In advanced small, the saying of ‘death, taxes, and Hart showmanship’ applied again. Up top, Brea claimed its second division win of the year. This season is the first multiple-win season for Masquerade since 2022.

The east coast, west coast, Texas, and Canadian circuits all wrap up their seasons this week. Check back later in the week for all the details of the late-season battles.