By Arte Reed, Nebraska Contributor
Fourteen schools will meet at Wahoo this weekend to become the ultimate champion. This is Wahoo's seventh year hosting Court of Champions. The event has become known as an opportunity for smaller programs to get away from the big city and shine on a stage dedicated to them.
Prep Division
Benson "Resilience"
Fairbury "Crimson Elite"
Lincoln Northeast "Dynamix"
Lincoln Northeast has considerable experience against the rest of the field this year. At Grand Island Northwest, Lincoln Northeast placed second above Fairbury. Earlier in the year they met with Benson and placed behind them in third. Benson had lost to Bryan at another competition, while Lincoln Northeast beat them at Grand Island Northwest. It is to be determined on who will win this division, as all three of these groups seem to be close in skill level.
Womens Division
Ralston "Runway"
Seward "Blue Harmony"
This is Blue Harmony's first official competition. They performed at Beatrice and Central City, but those were both festivals with no official awards. Ralston had two competitions already, placing third at one of them. Like the prep division, either group could place first.
Mixed Division
Bishop Neumann "Scarlet Knights"
Skutt Catholic "Vivace"
Bellevue East "Take II"
Hinton "Soundwaves"
Standing Bear "The Renegades"
Cameron "Lights, Cameron, Action!"
Ralston "RUSH"
Hastings "Uncaged"
Blair "Ovation"
Lincoln Northeast "Voices 'N Harmony"
Seward "Gold Dynamics"
Glenwood "Fast Lane"
This might be one of the biggest mixed divisions all year. Of the twelve mixed groups, five are small schools, four are large schools, and three are from out of state. Making finals here is one tough battle.
Starting with the small schools, this is Bishop Neumann's first official competition of the season. Their previous performance was at Omaha Skutt NCDA Festival which was noncompetitive. Skutt Catholic had a great season so far, placing fourth at Elkhorn a couple of weekends ago. Vivace will likely be a potential candidate for finals here as well. Speaking of Elkhorn, Blair placed fifth there as well. Ovation has a chance to be in finals if they out perform a lot of the schools here. Standing Bear had a great debut and placed in finals everywhere they've gone so far this year. Like Skutt Catholic, they too will be a good contender for finals. Last but definitely not least on the list, Seward is back in the competition after performing at two festivals earlier in the season.
Hastings and Lincoln Northeast, two of the large schools here, have faced each other twice. Hastings beat them both times and placed second at both competitions. Lincoln Northeast placed fourth and fifth at those same competitions. Ralston also faced both of them at Grand Island Northwest and placed sixth overall. These three schools meet up once again to change the tide. Bellevue East has not competed against any of the large schools, but are looking to prove themselves this time. Any of these four could make it into finals.
Now onto the out of state schools, two are from Iowa and one is from Missouri. Glenwood went through another director change, the second one since Kevin Kilpatrick left after the 2023 season. Now under the direction of Megan McGuigan, it is hard to say where they will place here. Fast Lane was supposed to be at North Polk last weekend, but the competition got canceled due to potential snow. Hinton performed at Sioux Center in the 2A division, meanwhile Cameron performed at Pleasant Hill in the 3A division. While both typically compete in smaller tiers, they have a chance to turn the tide and shock some of the small schools in Nebraska.
Final Predictions
GC: Hastings "Uncaged"
1RU: Skutt Catholic "Vivace"
2RU: Lincoln Northeast "Voices 'N Harmony"
3RU: Standing Bear "The Renegades"
4RU: Ralston "RUSH"
5RU: Glenwood "Fast Lane"
It's anyone's game. With a total of seventeen groups here, any of them could have a chance at finals. A mixture of smaller and larger schools are to be expected. Hastings and Skutt Catholic had great seasons so far. Lincoln Northeast and Standing Bear are two Lincoln schools that are climbing up the ranks. Glenwood and Ralston are not to be counted out and could prove their worth. The same goes for any group not included in this prediction. Truly, Wahoo is hosting a court of champions.
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