Winner's Circle, 3/15/25: Cathedral Breaks Through, Thomas Dale Snaps Drought

By William Soquet, Editor-in-Chief

Winning isn’t everything, but it certainly is something. Here’s a look at who took overall Grand Championships this weekend, and what it means in historical context.

Disclaimer: Win totals are sourced from showchoir.com. Not every show choir competition is documented online, and as such, all win totals should be considered unofficial. To view a full spreadsheet of data, click here.

Alabama

Enterprise: The competition was cancelled due to a lack of financial feasibility after several groups withdrew, citing concerns ahead of a tornado outbreak across the Southeast on Saturday. If the competition ran with all scheduled groups, it likely would have been Biloxi Sound Surge’s second-ever win, following their maiden triumph at Oak Grove last year.

Arizona

Valley Vista: Burbank In Sync won both major captions in a historic win. At the first edition of Monsoon Madness, Burbank became the first out-of-state group in recorded history to win in Arizona. It was the first win for In Sync at a competition that offered finals since Fairfield in 2019. Arizona is the seventh different state in which Burbank has claimed a win.

California

Los Alamitos: Homewood The Network capped off an undefeated season by taking both music and show over John F. Kennedy and Chaparral. The Network is now tied with Huntington North for 26th on the all-time list, as both count 42 wins. California is the seventh different state that Homewood has won in.

Illinois

Wheaton Warrenville South: Omaha Westside Amazing Technicolor Show Choir swept Choral Classic in a fitting end to the Doran Johnson era. ATSC now sits at 63 recorded wins, all of which have come in Johnson’s 27 years as director. Somewhat shockingly, this was Westside’s first win in Illinois; they are the eighth different winner of Choral Classic and the 70th different recorded winner in Illinois.

Indiana

Brownsburg: Carmel Ambassadors took their fourth consecutive win at Bulldog Spectacular, splitting captions with Franklin Central. After FC won the first four years of the competition, Carmel has now equaled them in wins. At least for a moment, Carmel sits in a four-way tie with Linn-Mar, Los Alamitos, and Twinsburg for 18th on the all-time list; all have 47 wins. It is likely that either Carmel or Los Al will win at Show Choir Nationals this weekend, propelling one of them out of the tie.

Columbia City: Avon Accents were the only large mixed group in attendance and continued their tear this season, continuing an undefeated season with their fifth win. Accents also won CCC in 2023, and is the first repeat winner since the competition rebooted in 2022. Avon now sits at 14 wins overall heading into the ISSMA State Finals this weekend.

Lawrence Central: North Central Counterpoints won Classic for the eighth time. Counterpoints has now won at least once in 18 consecutive full competition seasons, and are the 40th group to amass 35 or more wins. They will attempt to repeat this weekend at ISSMA Large State Finals, an event they have won 10 times before.

Norwell: Carroll Magic has officially picked up where it left off, equaling its 2023 win total after going winless in 2024. The victory was Carroll’s fourth at Norwell, tying them with Huntington North for most all-time. Magic’s ambitious eight-competition schedule this year gives two more chances for victory: they will have to clear Brownsburg this week at Noblesville, and Ankeny Centennial in two weeks at HOA Orlando.

Iowa

Westwood: In a dramatic three-way caption split, Bishop Heelan Harmonia Mundi walked away with its third win of the season. Westwood was the site of Heelan’s first win in six years last year, and it is the cap to what is one of show choir’s biggest breakout seasons this year. Harmonia Mundi’s total of 15.5 wins is good for 91st on the all-time list.

Nebraska

Millard North: Millard West closed its season with a signature win against Iowa foe Ankeny Centennial. WIG took all three major captions for its fourth win of the season, tying 2018 as the winningest season in program history. With the win, Millard West jumped to fourth on the list of wins at Nebraska competitions, behind only Westside, Lincoln Southwest, and Papillion-La Vista South.

Ohio

Fairfield: Center Grove Sound System won none of the major captions but still took home the Grand Championship at Crystal Classic. It was the first time since Southmont in the fall of 2005 that Sound System won with neither vocals, choreo, nor band. The win was CG’s fourth in the state of Ohio and first since the Central Crossing Reach for the Stars in fall 2011.

Rhode Island

Bishop Hendricken: Daniel Hand VIBE claimed its third win of the season, and second in split-caption form. VIBE now sits at 38 recorded wins, in sole possession of 33rd on the all-time list. Daniel Hand is the third different winner of Lil’ Rhody Rumble in the four years it’s been held.

South Dakota

Aberdeen Central: Sioux Falls Washington Classic Connection beat O’Gorman and Harrisburg to take its third consecutive win at the Center Stage Invitational. ClaCo now sits at 12.5 recorded wins; they passed Aberdeen Central (12) with this win and are within shouting distance of Sioux Falls Roosevelt (14).

Virginia

Manchester: Thomas Dale Knight Scene took sweepstakes from the middle mixed division over in-division rival Clover Hill and a handful of large choirs. The win ended a long drought for Knight Scene, whose last win was at Powhatan in 2018 – the same year of Knight Scene’s first win at Manchester. Thomas Dale now has six wins in Virginia, good for fifth-most all-time.

West Virginia

Herbert Hoover: Hurricane Red Hot repeated as champion of River Classic, remaining the only winner in the competition’s history. Red Hot now has five wins on the season, the sole blemish being a split-caption decision at Loveland on February 8. Red Hot will attempt to win its 16th West Virginia state championship this weekend.

Regional

FAME America: Cathedral Adrenaline Rush is still early on in its show choir journey – this is only the group’s third competition season. However, they’ve been a steady force in Indiana’s small mixed division this year and capitalized on an out-of-state chance for victory. They defeated Uniondale, the most frequent winner of FAME America, to become the 486th different winner in recorded show choir history.