All the marbles will shake out this upcoming weekend, but there was plenty of action to digest following last weekend too!
Large Mixed
Center Grove "Sound System" (4 first-place votes, no change)
Carmel "Ambassadors" (NC)
Franklin Central "F.C. Singers" (NC)
North Central "Counterpoints" (NC)
Zionsville "Royalaires" (NC)
Brownsburg "Spotlight Singers & Co." (NC)
Plainfield "Belles et Beaux" (NC)
Fishers "Electrum" (NC)
Noblesville "NHS Singers" (NC)
Carroll "Magic" (NC)
Avon "Accents" (NC)
Chesterton "Sandpipers" (NC)
Lafayette Jefferson "First Edition" (NC)
Lawrence North "Legacy" (NC)
Lawrence Central "Central Sound" (NC)
Receiving Votes: Homestead "Class Royale", Ben Davis "Premiers", Northrop "Charisma"
Large Single-Gender
Fishers "Sound" (4 first-place votes, no change)
Center Grove "Debtones" (NC)
Zionsville "Choralaires" (+5)
Carmel "Accents" (-1)
Franklin Central "High Voltage" (-1)
Brownsburg "Starlight Voices" (-1)
Plainfield "Femmes Fatales" (-1)
Avon "Attraction" (-1)
North Central "Descants" (+1)
Noblesville "New Dimension" (-1)
Lawrence North "Bella Bravada" (NC)
Lawrence Central "Sweets" (NC)
Carroll "Select Sound" (NC)
Franklin Community "Sensations" (NC)
Chesterton "Drifters" (NC)
Receiving Votes: None.
Center Grove and Zionsville impress at stacked WWS competition
In a stacked national field, Indianapolis metro groups showed out. Four groups from the metro competed, and each and every one placed in the top three of their respective divisions. Center Grove defeated 13 other mixed groups and once again showed off their clutch abilities at finals against near perfection in Los Alamitos Sound FX. Zionsville Royalaires came out of what is likely one of the latest finals performances of the decade and proved they belonged in every way with the podium. They showed off some of the cleanest choreography of the day and executed a vocal performance that showed out in every way. Indy dominated the women's division, and the two groups entered received top honors. Zionsville set a statement for the year with their vocals and found a way to defeat Debtones in an extremely close final. Choralaires made this year count for them, taking on and winning one of the best womens fields of the year. Their win is a feat that got lost in the drama of the mixed battle of Los Al vs CG, but should get a whole lot more attention. They had one of the largest improvements of the year and that is attributed to every member of their group's hard work and dedication. Debtones looked extremely complete in their finals run and has fantastic opportunities in the next two weeks at Noblesville and the Grand Ole Opry. Both Zionsville and Center Grove can be described as the class of the field from one of the most competitive comps in a very long time. For Zionsville, it is an extreme high note at the end of a fantastic season that saw them take a step forward. For Center Grove, it is their defining win of the season against arguably a top-ten group in the country. They still have two deep, fantastic comps left to go, but regardless of what happens at Noblesville and the Opry, this season can only be described as a wild success.
Franklin Central sweeps Heart of America Nashville
While the Choral Classic caught many people's attention this past week as a premier out-of-state event, it should also be remembered what Franklin Central was able to accomplish in Nashville this past weekend. Franklin Central High Voltage swept the competition in prelims for the single-gender division, displaying the dominance of the Indy women's scene against a very solid Tupelo group from Mississippi and Carroll Magic. In a combined finals division, High Voltage was fourth, the top of three womens groups who qualified. FC Singers, not to be left out, took a commanding win along with Best Vocals and Best Choreography. They took the mixed prelims victory and repeated it in finals over a strong April James group in Wheaton North Flight. It was an another point for Indiana in the national show choir dominance battle. FC will now set up against another recent big winner, Center Grove, at Noblesville. Whatever happens between these two champions is yet to be seen, but it will be unique to watch.
North Central picks up maiden win at Lawrence Central
While North Central has been in the fight all season, their first win eluded them for a while. They ran a true Indy gauntlet, participating in some of Indiana's toughest events. Despite that, it had been a solid season for Counterpoints, taking Best Choreography from Carmel at Lafayette Jefferson and beating Wheaton Warrenville South at that same competition. They looked to end their wining drought with a matchup against seventh-ranked Plainfield at Lawrence Central, where they split the captions last season. North Central performed dominantly in Mixed and Festival divisions, with Counterpoints sweeping the competition and their prep groups being placed first and second, indicating a lot of solid future talent. Descants also took a major step forward, claiming a tie for best vocals with Plainfield and nabbing a share of their first caption at a competition since 2019. Descants will have to contend with an extremely competitive scene in Indianapolis, but this is great progress for a group rebuilding back to form. North Central will look to get a solid win against solid groups at a regional competition in Marysville, Ohio, though that may not be the most important goal on Saturday. North Central has been scoring higher than they have in years past and this is the final competition of director Michael Raunick's successful 10-year run. They have a chance to not just match the excellence he and the 2018 Counterpoints attained at Show Choir Nationals finals, but to surpass its excellence and be a performance remembered for years to come. While Marysville isn't the Opry, the legacy would be much the same for those North Central performers.
Carmel finishes strong; Sound remains undefeated
Ambassadors finished another excellent season at Brownsburg with a sweep to claim their fourth win of the year. Their set was a defining feature of the Indy scene, and their only loss was to Center Grove, which has yet to be defeated this season. They remained one of the cleanest groups in choreography and vocals all season. Their group clearly had the same drive as last year and had a similar level of excellence. They seem to have inspired a new level of excellence as the only reason they did not repeat their dominance from last season is that the groups around them rose to the challenge Carmel proved to be. Accents finished the season with three wins and held extremely close with Sound, which no one this season had found a way to do. While this may not be the result they wanted to finish the season, it is an absolute success overall. They have a lot to build on next season and will look to be the class of the field in 2025. Sound remained the class of the field in 2024 but had a much tougher test than they have in past weeks with Accents competing with them to the end. They will look to capture their third straight ISSMA state championship and get the coveted six-win season, a feat that has rarely been done before, especially in what is the most competitive and arguably most stacked womens circuit in the country. They also have the opportunity with a sweep to complete the perfect season without a single blemish on their record and cement themselves as the best single-gender choir in the country. Electrum will look to gain their first win and the ISSMA state championship on the season against Plainfield. This win would be a true statement for their group and be an amazing stepping stone into 2025. Belles et Beaux beat Electrum two weeks ago at Avon, but it's late in the season and everything can change.
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