These rankings are a collection of HRSC's Indiana voters' four-member blind ballot designed to come to a consensus ranking. The panel ranks 30 groups across four divisions - large and small mixed and large and small single-gender. This is the large group ranking for both mixed and single-gender. ISSMA and Noblesville are now in sight for these choirs, and the end is drawing ever nearer.
Large Mixed
Center Grove “Sound System” (4 first-place votes, no change)
Carmel “Ambassadors” (NC)
Franklin Central “F.C. Singers” (NC)
North Central “Counterpoints” (+1)
Zionsville “Royalaires” (-1)
Brownsburg “Spotlight Singers & Co.” (+2)
Plainfield “Belles et Beaux” (NC)
Fishers “Electrum” (-2)
Noblesville “NHS Singers” (NC)
Carroll “Magic” (NC)
Avon “Accents” (NC)
Chesterton “Sandpipers” (+1)
Lafayette Jefferson “First Edition” (-1)
Lawrence North “Legacy” (NC)
Lawrence Central “Central Sound” (New) Receiving Votes: Ben Davis "Premiers", Homestead "Class Royale", Northrop "Charisma"
Large Single-Gender
Fishers “Sound” (4 first-place votes, no change)
Center Grove “Debtones” (NC)
Carmel “Accents” (NC)
Franklin Central “High Voltage” (NC)
Brownsburg “Starlight Voices” (NC)
Plainfield “Femmes Fatales” (+1)
Avon “Attraction” (-1)
Zionsville “Choralaires” (NC)
Noblesville “New Dimension” (NC)
North Central “Descants” (NC)
Lawrence North “Bella Bravada” (NC)
Lawrence Central “Sweets” (+1)
Carroll “Select Sound” (-1)
Franklin Community “Sensation” (NC)
Chesterton “Drifters” (NC)
Receiving Votes: Homestead "Elite"
Carmel and North Central split captions at Laf Jeff
North Central competes at Center Grove (Nathan Ensley)
If you had said a year ago that North Central, who had not beaten Carmel since 2012, would be splitting captions with them, it would have been a bold prediction. If you had said that North Central’s caption would be choreography, which Carmel has dominated since 2022, there would have been skepticism for sure. However, here in 2024, North Central defied many of their narratives to redefine what their group can accomplish weekly. Michael Raunick's choice to bring in Tori Brindis, Dominick Matas and Ellie Jordan has worked out masterfully, bringing out the group’s potential in a way last observed in 2018. It was especially meaningful as NC was able to win the choreography caption over the great Dwight Jordan, which they were unable to do at Pike. While Carmel secured the victory due to their brilliant vocals and insane drive, North Central kept it extremely close. The result of Lafayette Jefferson only continues to display how much excellence Indianapolis has to offer. Both groups defeated HRSC’s number-one Illinois group, Wheaton Warrenville South, who had a phenomenal show, and the caption split continues to muddy the Indy head-to-head. Almost every top group has been within points of one another. Unfortunately, there is no end of season Power Five Showdown to help sort out this mess, but for now, embrace the chaos. This is Indy, where top groups come from every corner of the city.
Avon Vocal Invitational shakes up the second tier of mixed groups
Spotlight Singers & Co. performs at Franklin Central (Nathan Ensley)
HRSC does its best to get things right. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't, so a head-to-head competition between close groups is always appreciated to help clarify where everyone is at. Brownsburg got redemption for a fourth-place finish at a stacked Franklin Central and won this competition for the second year in a row. That leapfrogged Spotlight Singers & Co. right up to sixth and just outside of the Power Five. Plainfield walked away with the choreography caption and made a strong case to be right alongside Brownsburg. Plainfield will have the opportunity to reclaim that spot at ISSMA state if they can take the state championship, so the close battle in this tier is far from over. Fishers came in at third place, continuing what has been a trying season for them. After outplacing Brownsburg at FC, the judges went a different route at Avon, showing just how close these three groups are. Fishers wound up third, but someone has to be there when the groups are this tight. The groups are all so close and fierce that years like this sometimes happen. Electrum has a bright future - they just need to keep on the grindstone, and they will get where they want to go soon enough. This group is too talented not to.
Single-Gender division sees little shake-up
Sound competes at FC (Nathan Ensley)
This week, the single-gender division saw rankings mostly hold steady as results mostly followed where groups were ranked. Fishers continues their magnum opus of a season and left only one question mark, which is 'where would they rank if their competition was overall?'. Would they be able to beat some of the top mixed groups in Indianapolis? Who knows, but they would certainly give it their all. Beyond that, Carmel took care of business at Lafayette Jefferson and Zionsville took their first grand championship of the season at South Dearborn. Compared to some of the movement from previous weeks, a consensus has begun to emerge.
All Lawrence Groups Enter the Top 15
Lawrence North Legacy at Fishers (Nathan Ensley)
Despite starting the season not ranked in any of our polls, Lawrence North and Lawrence Central have earned their spot on our lists. They have impressed this season with strong results at the back half of the field, which is impressive with how competitive Indy has been. These groups have consistently been making finals or coming incredibly close. However, these groups are getting less of a spotlight simply because of the depth of the Indianapolis scene. In general, they are still rebuilding toward the top ten once again, but this season has been a great step in the right direction. Simply placing and/or making finals when the opportunity presents itself is quite the accomplishment!
Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Brownsburg will be attending ISSMA state finals this year. That is not true, and the article has been amended to show as such. We deeply regret this error.
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