By Simon Zimmerman, Ohio contributor
The 2024 season was wild in so many ways, and Ohio was no exception. Perhaps the least surprising thing about the season was Marysville’s continued dominance. Swingers Unlimited won five out of six competitions they attended, picking up major wins at Ohio competitions like Loveland and Fairfield, and their only loss was to Carmel and Brandon at Chesterton, Indiana. The 2024 season also saw dominance on the part of the ETC All Americans, who went undefeated at the four competitions that they attended, beating groups like Loveland, Fairfield, Solon, and Hurricane. For their part, Solon also had a great 2024 season, winning three of five competitions they attended, splitting the season series against Findlay, and winning Best Band at all five of their competitions.
Some Ohio groups faced struggles in 2024, with the most notable being Loveland, who showed flashes of promise with an early win at Beavercreek before placing second at five competitions in a row, including a heartbreaking upset loss to Uniondale at FAME Show Choir America. Findlay, long one of Ohio’s standout groups, faced a similar situation; they picked up a win at Homestead early in the season, were then swept by Solon, then beat Solon but lost a caption-splitter to Marysville, found themselves on the losing side of one of the most closely scored Ohio competitions ever, and finally went from second in prelims to fourth in finals at Show Choir Nationals.
In Small Mixed, traditional contender Edgewood did very well, winning tough Small Mixed divisions at Homestead and Fairfield. North Royalton also did very well, winning the Small Mixed division at Teays Valley and splitting captions with middle mixed group Strongsville at Walsh Jesuit. Twinsburg, long a group that dominated Large Mixed in Ohio, also began to settle into Small Mixed in 2024, making finals at three of their five competitions and beating groups like West Virginia contenders Robert C. Byrd and Nitro.
Ohio’s single-gender scene was dominated (as usual) by ETC Rouge, who won the single-gender division everywhere they competed and placed on the overall podium at Twinsburg, beating several Small Mixed groups in the process. Grove City’s womens’ group, Class Act, also did very well in the Single Gender division; though they were often the only group competing in that division, whenever they did have competition, they won. Moreover, they made overall finals at all of their competitions, including two placements on the podium and wins over groups like South Dearborn and Twinsburg. A final womens group that merits mention is Fairfield’s Pure Elegance, who did decently well, making overall finals twice and beating womens groups from Loveland, Homewood, and Hurricane, as well as splitting captions with ETC Rouge.
And that was 2024 in Ohio! Looking ahead to 2025, several things stand out. First are the continued dominance of Marysville as well as the new dominance of ETC and Solon. Whether these groups can keep up their great performances and winning streaks is anyone’s guess, but they remain groups to watch in 2025. In addition, it remains to be seen whether some of the groups that have been struggling, like Loveland and Findlay (who is facing a complete shakeup in creative team), will remain strong. Finally, Ohio show choir always seems to have a rotating cast of contenders that do great for one year before fading into the background, so it will be interesting to see whether any such groups pop up in 2025.
What’s Changed?
Probably the biggest change coming to Ohio show choir this year is the complete switchup at Findlay. Long one of Ohio’s premiere groups, Findlay will be going through a director change, as longtime director (since 2004) Kevin Manley departs and is replaced by the husband and wife duo of Ohio Northern musical theatre instructor David Coolidge and vocal music instructor Mary Beth Coolidge. The director change was accompanied by a change at choreographer as well, as longtime choreographer and show choir legend Andy Haines departed and was replaced by the Indianapolis-based duo of Joe Sato and Cecily Pedregon, who have worked in the past with groups like Brownsburg, North Central, and Naperville North.
Marah Cover has joined the choreography team at Fairfield, working with Pure Elegance this year.
At Teays Valley, meanwhile, second year director Johnathan Michael has replaced former choreographer AJ Blankenship with Teays Valley alum Shane Coe, who is now the sole choreographer for the program. This change may already have paid dividends, as TV got their first finals placement since 2023 at November’s Ada Music Feast.
As always, there are some arrivals and departures from Ohio show choir to discuss. Several Ohio programs, including storied names like Wapakoneta and Colerain, have died out since the pandemic, and this year is no different. Already, Columbus-area Jonathan Alder has announced that their show choir program will be shutting down due to budget constraints. In addition, Sheridan, long a stalwart of Ohio’s small mixed scene, is not scheduled to host their annual Spotlight competition, which has long been a pillar of small school show choir in Ohio. Even worse, there is no confirmation that Sheridan’s group, the Northern Stars, will be competing, marking another potential loss to Ohio show choir in 2025.
However, there is one bright spot: a new competition, the Kenton Invitational, hosted by Kenton HS in northwestern Ohio, which will be held on February 15. Hopefully, this competition can be a new pillar for Ohio’s small mixed scene to replace the loss of Sheridan.
Who’s On The Rise?
Grove City. They have long been in the middle of the Ohio show choir pack, but since the pandemic they have been on a steady rise in Ohio. Led by director Ann Johnson and choreographers Shane Coe and Eric Hayes, Grove City’s mixed group, Touch of Class, has placed on the podium at their last nine competitions (including every competition in their 2023 and 2024 seasons), winning four of those competitions. 2025 is shaping up to be a big season for TOC; they already have a win at Ada’s fall competition to their name, and they have matchups scheduled against several of Ohio’s top contenders, including the melee that is Beavercreek’s season -pening competition. Don’t disregard Grove City’s womens group, Class Act, either; though they didn’t compete at Ada, they have a streak of five placements in overall finals and several wins in Single Gender in 2024 to their name, and they will look to keep that up against tough competition this season.
ETC. Perhaps no Ohio group’s turnaround from 2023 to 2024 was as dramatic as that of ETC’s mixed group, the All Americans. The turnaround was precipitated by a couple of creative team switchups - namely, Zack Triscari coming on as a director alongside Brian Rodabaugh, as well as Triscari joining the choreography team alongside Tara Tober and Jacob Jay Jones. The result was domination; the All Americans won all four of their competitions, beating groups like Hurricane, Loveland, Fairfield, Carroll, and Solon on their way to going undefeated. The AAs are looking to continued this success into 2025 with help from Peyton Bellman, the newest member of their choreography team. This will be tough, as they are scheduled to go against Ohio top dog Marysville at Marion Harding in early February, as well as travel to Indiana to take on powerhouse Center Grove at Pendleton Heights on March 1.
Buckeye Valley. BV was the talk of Ohio small mixed show choir in 2023, when they won two competitions and just generally dominated the division in Ohio. Though they went through something of a switchup in 2024, as directors Pam and Kaitlyn Lyons left and were replaced by Cierra Culler and Kayden Cordell, BV remained strong, placing only behind out of state groups at important competitions like Alliance and Sheridan and holding their own against groups like North Royalton, Kenton, and Alliance. The 2025 season will likely be an important one for BV, as they will see if they can improve on last season’s performances and reclaim their spot at the top of Ohio small mixed.
Who Has Something To Prove?
Olentangy. Olentangy has seen its highs and its lows since the pandemic. Their 2022 season, when they performed a California-style Josh Greene story show, was a successful one, which saw them beating groups like Clover Hill and Broken Arrow and win their first overall competition since 2012. Since then, they’ve seen some lows, including not making finals at Show Choir Nationals in 2023, and some highs, like taking Best Vocals from Marysville at Winfield 2024. For 2025, the Keynotes (and She-Notes) will be maintaining the same team they’ve had since the pandemic, with Tim Smith as their director and Shane Coe as their choreographer. They’ll be starting their season early this year at Beavercreek; if they want to reclaim a spot at the top of Ohio show choir, and prove that their lows are behind them, a strong finish there is a must.
Piqua. Piqua spent a fair amount of time at the top of Ohio show choir after the pandemic; in 2022, their only losses were a caption-splitter to Loveland and to Marysville (the top two Ohio groups that year), and they began their 2023 season with three straight wins before falling to ETC, Loveland, and Findlay. Last year was a weaker season for them; they fell early to Grove City before two straight third-place finishes at Findlay and Marion Harding. They did manage to get a win over Findlay and Grove City at Solon, which was a nice ending to the season. This season, Piqua will maintain their creative team from last year, with Tom Westfall, Lara Ray, and Brian Detweiler serving as directors and choreography by Randy Sage and AJ Blankenship, and they will open their season at Beavercreek. If Piqua wants to prove that they belong at the top of Ohio, and that the end of 2023 and entirety of 2024 was a fluke, they need a top finish there.
Marysville. It might sound odd to say that Marysville, who have been Ohio’s top group for two of the three seasons since the pandemic, have anything to prove. However, despite a strong 2024 season, there are still doubters. For one, only two of those wins were sweeps, and Marysville found themselves in caption splitters quite often, losing Best Vocals three times (to Olentangy, Naperville North, and Findlay). In addition, they didn’t do well at their one out-of-state competition at Chesterton, where they were soundly beaten by Carmel and Brandon. In addition, they now face new challengers like ETC for the top spot in Ohio. Marysville’s greatest strength, their creative team of director Jeremy Alfera (with assistance from Marysville Bunsold Middle director Kain Anderson) and choreographers Randy Sage, Dwight Jordan, and Ellie Jordan, will return in full for the 2025 season. If Marysville wants to crush the doubts about them, they need to look towards their matchup with ETC at Marion Harding on February 1; a solid win there will show that they are still capable of handling any challenge Ohio may throw at them.
What Competitions Are Looking Good?
Beavercreek. The traditional season-opening competition for Ohio, Beavercreek has long attracted many Ohio and out of state groups, and 2025 is no different. Though West Virginia standout Hurricane will not be in attendance (they will be competing in their home state at Nitro), Noblesville will be making the trip from the Indianapolis metro area to attend after a successful season in 2024, which included winning Best Vocals and placing third at Beavercreek. The real story, however, is the massive matchup of top Ohio groups at this competition. Rising stars Solon and Grove City will both be there, taking on Loveland, traditionally one of the top groups in Ohio. In addition, Piqua, looking for another successful season like 2022 or 2023, and Olentangy, looking to prove that they deserve consideration at the top of Ohio show choir, will both be there. This matchup of six great groups at the top will prove entertaining, and may go on to define storylines for these groups as the season progresses.
Marion Harding. This competition isn’t being touted so much for a strong field as for the matchup at the top. Marysville will be looking to prove their dominance of Ohio show choir with a win over rising challenger ETC, who will be looking to extend their winning streak from the 2024 season (and likely earlier in 2025 as well). This top-line matchup should prove exciting, and will provide Ohio show choir fans a great reason to keep an eye on this competition. Don’t neglect the womens division here either; Swingers Select, Marysville’s new womens group, will be going up against ETC Rouge, long the top single-gender group in Ohio. This matchup should be a good test of how much Marysville’s mixed group’s success will translate into success in Ohio’s single-gender division.
Fairfield. Fairfield occupies the opposite position to Beavercreek as it is the traditional season ending competition for Ohio show choir. It is similar, however, in that it attracts top groups from across the country. This year is no exception, as Indianapolis-area powerhouses Center Grove and Zionsville are both on the list of groups attending the competition. They will go up against top Ohio groups like Marysville, Loveland, and Grove City, though the Indiana groups may be favored based on sheer vocal power. If the top Ohio groups want to prove that they deserve consideration as top groups in the country, they need to perform well - perhaps even win - the 2025 Crystal Classic.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly listed changes within the Fairfield choral department. We apologize for confusion this may have caused.
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