It’s a new year and a new show choir season, but the trusty Comps of the Week column series returns! The competition slate is a little lighter than this weekend last year, with only three competitions on the first weekend after January instead of five competitions last year. Here is a look at all three!
Ankeny Centennial Mid-Iowa Show Choir Championships
The Lineup (all groups from Iowa unless noted)
Mixed: La Crosse Central “Grand Central Station” (WI), Linn-Mar “10th Street Edition”, Sioux Falls Jefferson “Legacy” (SD), Waukee Northwest “Eos”
Womens: Linn-Mar “Hi-Style”, Sioux Falls Jefferson “Revelry” (SD)
Prep: Linn-Mar “In Step”, Waukee Northwest “Aurora”
Mid-Iowa shows up yet again with a competition that is small on numbers but heavy on talent. While this comp lost Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Broken Arrow and Waconia from a year ago, it retained the marquee Linn-Mar vs. Waukee Northwest matchup at the top and added an intriguing out-of-state third-place battle between Sioux Falls Jefferson and La Crosse Central. Eos and 10th Street split captions here last year, and one of those groups went on to win Show Choir Nationals. Linn-Mar enters this season on top of the show choir world, but Waukee Northwest remains the group on the strongest upward trajectory in the country. The bottom two groups of finals will be filled by groups from the undercard divisions. This presents an intriguing storyline as well – can one school get three groups into finals? Will Aurora or In Step claim prep supremacy?
Des Moines Christian Illumination
The Lineup (all groups from Iowa unless noted)
4A: Cedar Rapids Jefferson “West Side Delegation”, Dallas Center-Grimes “Momentum”, Indianola “Side One”, Waukee “Millennium”, Xavier “Xhilaration”
3A: El Paso-Gridley “Modulations” (IL), Marion “New Creation”, O’Gorman “Ovation!” (SD), Skutt Catholic “Vivace” (NE)
1A: Keota “EagleRock!”
Womens: El Paso-Gridley “Hi Fidelity” (IL), Skutt Catholic “Allegro” (NE), Xavier “Xuberance”
Prep: Indianola “Flip Side”, Waukee “Spirit”
Mere miles away from Ankeny Centennial, DMC returns only three of its finalists from last year, but they are the first, second and fourth-place finishers. Marion took a split-caption decision over Indianola, and both groups should be in contention again. However, Waukee has emerged as the consensus favorite among the choirs attending to take the win, with New Creation and Side One still solid picks for finals. Cedar Rapids Jefferson should also transfer through to the evening round, as they became a quiet sensation over the course of Jonathan Neswick’s first season last year. As for the last two finals groups? Dallas Center-Grimes is the last returning finalist, but they will face still challenges from El Paso-Gridley, O’Gorman and Skutt Catholic. Only two of those last four will make finals, putting some on the right foot to start the season and some on the left foot.
Holmen Gathering
The Lineup (all groups from Wisconsin unless noted)
Mixed: Cedar Rapids Washington “Momentum” (IA), Logan “The Class Act”, Mayville “Cardinal Singers”, Monona Grove “Silver Connection”, Neenah “Vintage”, Onalaska “Hilltoppers”, Plymouth “Momentum”, Reedsburg “Choraliers”, Sauk Prairie “Executive Session”, South St. Paul “SouthSide Sensation” (MN), Sparta “Upstage Adrenaline”, Tomah “Limited Edition”, Waconia “Power Company” (MN), West Salem “Singsations”
Prep: DeForest “DeFortes”, Drummond “Jack Attack”, Medford “Momentum”, Onalaska “Express”
Womens: Monona Grove “Silver Dimension”, Sauk Prairie “YTBN”, Sparta “Rise of Adrenaline”
Middle: La Crosse “Star Power Omega”, Onalaska “In The Middle”, Onalaska “Top O’ The Middle”, West Salem “Crescendo”
Holmen only had seven groups attend their competition last year, and they’re up to 25 this year. The reason? A slide into the La Crosse-on-the-first-weekend-of-January slot that Viterbo had occupied up to 2023, taking those choirs, and a temporary stoppage of Colby hosting on that same weekend, bringing in most of their choirs. At the top, Waconia and Onalaska should be within a few points of each other either way. Sauk Prairie and Cedar Rapids Washington run very different brands of show choir, but both have the potential to play spoiler if the cards fall the right way. The final two spots in finals are anybody’s guess, with Monona Grove, Sparta and Tomah having the best chances. Neenah, Mayville, Logan and Reedsburg also have pathways to finals, making this prelim awards ceremony perhaps the most interesting of all that are happening this Saturday.
As we roll into another show choir season, make sure to come back and check back in the early portions of next week for a recap of these competitions!
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