By Ava Sammons, Iowa contributor
Waukee Starstruck is known for two things: falling on weekends with bad weather, and being central Iowa’s early season bloodbath. Groups from central Iowa and throughout the region premiere their shows for the first time and duke it out for an early season win. Last year, a historically bad weather weekend cancelled Starstruck, so everyone is more than ready for this weekend. This year’s lineup includes 20 (!!) choirs in three high school divisions, with an additional eight competing in Friday night’s middle school competition. All groups this year, with the exception of Liberty, hail from central Iowa, promising big bragging rights for the choir that’s able to come out on top.
Womens Division
Urbandale “Affinity”
Southeast Polk “Vocal Gold”
Liberty “Impact”
Waukee Starstruck marks the first time all three choirs in the womens division will compete this season. After a successful 2024 inaugural season, Affinity is definitely a contender for the win in this division. Liberty Impact dipped their toe into the mixed prep division last season, but will return back to the womens division in 2025. All three groups are coming into this competition with a win from last season, with Affinity and Impact taking first right off the bat, and Vocal Gold not securing a win until their last competition of the season. With new shows and a new director for Affinity, it’ll be interesting to see how this division shakes out.
Prep Division
Ankeny Centennial “Chaos”
Dallas Center-Grimes “Acceleration”
Valley “Amplification”
Norwalk “Sound Adrenaline”
Ankeny Centennial “Eternal Rush”
Indianola “Flip Side”
Valley “Ignition”
Urbandale “Vitality”
There’s a lot to unpack in this prep division. Three groups - DCG Acceleration, Norwalk Sound Adrenaline, and Indianola Flip Side - all started off their season at Des Moines Christian last weekend, where they placed fifth, fourth, and third, respectively. Urbandale Vitality, Valley Ignition, and Ankeny Centennial Eternal Rush will likely be the groups taking the top three placements, but it’s hard to say what will happen for the groups’ first competition. Vitality and Ignition both had outstanding 2024 seasons, with Vitality making a finals appearance and Ignition losing to only one choir in the prep division all season. Valley will debut their brand new mixed prep group, Amplification, this weekend. With historically only three placements being given out in this division, groups will be gunning for a spot on the prep group podium.
Mixed Division
Ankeny Centennial “Vortex”
Dallas Center-Grimes “Momentum”
Norwalk “Sound Revolution”
Liberty “Storm”
Ankeny Centennial “Spectrum”
Southeast Polk “RAMification”
Indianola “Side One”
Valley “Choralation”
Urbandale “Studio”
The pool of competitors in Starstruck’s mixed division is likely to be among the biggest 4A fields in Iowa this season, which will make for a very interesting early-season competition. Like their prep groups, DCG, Norwalk, and Indianola are the only groups with competition experience under their belt this season. Indianola comes in with a Best Choreography caption and a very close third place from last weekend, but will have a tall task keeping up with central Iowa’s best this weekend. Urbandale Studio seems to be the choir to beat, having won the past three Starstruck Grand Championships (dating back to 2020 due to weather and the pandemic), but Valley and Ankeny Centennial Spectrum won’t be putting up an easy fight. Ankeny Centennial Vortex is the only varsity womens group in this competition, adding an extra level of unpredictability as to how this division could pan out. Valley will debut a set with multiple original compositions, and Liberty and Southeast Polk will see each other early this season after spirited battles the past two years.
Final Predictions
GC: Urbandale “Studio” (BV)
1RU: Ankeny Centennial “Spectrum” (BC)
2RU: Valley “Choralation” (BB)
3RU: Indianola “Side One”
4RU: Ankeny Centennial “Vortex”
5RU: Liberty “Storm”
There is no 'easy win' at a competition of this caliber. Even though Spectrum came out with the win against Studio last season, their vocals will predictably set them apart from the crowd of mixed groups, but the likelihood of a sweep from any group is near impossible. It’s hard to know what this competition looks like for Valley, since they weren’t able to secure a Grand Championship in 2024, but took first in Starstruck prelims in 2023. Side One and Vortex can count on a spot in the top six, however, breaking into the podium is unlikely for either of them. Southeast Polk, DCG, and Norwalk also stand as contenders for the last spot in finals. Placement switch-ups between daytime and finals are more likely than not, so this competition is really anybody’s game.