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
Homewood: Oak Mountain Singers were second in prelims, but surged ahead of Petal in a barebones finals round to take the win. Singers is the first Alabama group to win the South Central Classic in 22 years (Opelika in 2003). The win is Oak Mountain’s seventh overall and extends their winning streak to five seasons.
California
Bonita Vista: Chaparral Platinum FX was the only group entered in the advanced mixed division, and with no sweepstakes award announced, is presumed to be the winner. It is the second win overall for Chaparral. Their first was at Brea Olinda in 2020, beating Glendora.
Brea Olinda: John Burroughs started off the season in typical fashion, winning Music and Show en route to the overall win at Cal Classic. It’s the 50th recorded win for Powerhouse in California, and they now have 18 straight competition seasons with a win.
Illinois
Manteno: El Paso-Gridley Modulations took a two-caption loss to Dwight D. Eisenhower at Crete, but avenged themselves with a vocals/choreo win over Express and Glenwood Titan Fever. Mods’ second win of the year secured them their third multi-win season in the past four years. It was EPG’s fourth triumph at Manteno, moving them past Waubonsie Valley for most all-time wins at Main Event.
Naperville North: Lafayette Jefferson joined the lineup on Wednesday after coming to an impasse with ISSMA rules, which governed Ben Davis this weekend. First Edition took the win from Wheaton North, who was looking to go two-in-a-row. First Edition now has its first multi-win season since 2022. Jefferson also won the inaugural Clash of the Sequins in 2016, when Verda Slinkard was director of First Edition.
Indiana
Ben Davis: A week after winning the Plainfield Quaker Classic, Avon Accents beat Plainfield Belles et Beaux for their second win of the season. Accents are now up to 11 wins and need only one more to tie their all-time high of three in a season. That win, barring a surprise upstart challenger, will come this weekend at Poca. After that, another showdown with Plainfield awaits at Mooresville.
Center Grove: Franklin Central outpaced Zionsville, Fishers, and North Central for its third win at Best of the Midwest. FC eclipsed 60 recorded wins with its triumph, which was the first of the 2025 season. The ensemble now also holds an 18-season streak of winning at least one competition.
Chesterton: Linn-Mar sought out the best competition in the country and still came out on top. 10SE’s sweep of Trojan Classic wasn’t in serious doubt as soon as the prelims set ended. The triumph was Linn-Mar’s first in the state of Indiana and their 46th overall, moving them up into a tie with Los Alamitos and Johnston.
DeKalb: New Castle Red Hot Blues capitalized on a field devoid of large choirs, beating Fairfield and Columbia City for the win. Red Hot Blues is beginning to emerge as one of the more dangerous small mixed choirs in Indiana, as they also took the overall win at East Noble last season. New Castle now sits at four overall grand championships.
Iowa
Cedar Rapids Washington: Cedar Rapids Kennedy was the class of the field at its crosstown invitational, winning Mo Show for the sixth time. Happiness has now won a competition in each of the past three seasons, and its win this weekend was its 30th recorded win in Iowa.
Davenport Central: Ankeny Visual Adrenaline continued down the trail to an undefeated season, taking all three major captions en route to its first win at Great River. Visual Adrenaline now sits at 35 recorded wins, on par with Daniel Hand and Clover Hill. They will attempt to add a fourth win to close out the season at Southeast Polk on Mar. 1, facing Ankeny Centennial and Johnston.
Keokuk: When Cameron was snowed out, Hannibal sought a stage closer to home. They settled at Keokuk, which saw Pella and Ottumwa drop due to weather. River City Revue beat out Fort Madison for its second Power City Classic win, the first coming in 2018 (another weather-impacted edition). Hannibal now has at least one win in three straight seasons.
Urbandale: Four weeks after its previous competition, Johnston Innovation showed no signs of rust as the group headlined an incredible lineup. Inno’s 46th recorded win kept pace with Linn-Mar, who also recorded win number 46 this weekend, and (at least right now) pushed them past Carmel. It was the seventh time Johnston triumphed at Urbandale.
Minnesota
Waconia: Bloomington Kennedy held serve against Neenah and St. Francis to take its first win of the year. RIG now has six wins after the pandemic and 19 overall. This year’s win was their fifth at Star Power, second only to Bemidji’s nine. The win marked their seventh recorded victory in Minnesota, tying them with Waconia for fourth.
Mississippi
Tupelo: Grenada Visions repeated as winner of King City Classic, taking nine total captions. Visions has won the event each of the two years it has been held. This year is now the third straight multi-win campaign for Visions, and their 10th win in Mississippi pushed them to fourth on the state win list behind Petal, Clinton, and Brandon.
West Jones: Clinton kicked off its season by taking home overall winner at a competition without finals. The win was Attaché’s third at West Jones and their 22nd recorded win in Mississppi. They currently sit atop the recorded win standings with a two-competition buffer on Center Grove.
Missouri
Cameron: The cancellation of Harrisonville led Blue Valley to the stage at Cameron. Chamber Singers notched a three-win season last year, the first three in school history, and the quest for a repeat three-peat started in earnest at Cameron after a second at Troy to begin the season. BV will need to triumph at Platte County and Raymore-Peculiar to take a trio of wins – but it’s looking very doable.
Neosho: Troy Buchanan repeated as champion of The Sho, sweeping in similar fashion to last season’s inaugural contest. Express has now reached 25 wins as a program. They have also won a competition for 10 straight seasons, no insignificant feat. The win was only Express’ ninth in Missouri, pushing them above Carthage and Joplin for in-state wins.
Nebraska
Elkhorn South: Papillion-La Vista South Titanium took all three major captions, Best Ballad, and Best Soloist en route to a win. With some drops due to weather, Papio South put all three of its groups in finals – a great day for the entire program. The win was Titanium’s first since Elkhorn South two years ago, where they bested crosstown rival Free Spirit. Titan Express’ finals appearance was its first since 2016, and Crystal Cup is the first recorded instance of Papio South putting three groups in finals.
Gretna East: Gretna brought the firepower to East’s inaugural event, with Revolution taking six total captions and the win. Evolution did its part as well, placing third. Revolution has now won multiple competitions in each of the past three seasons and has eight wins in Nebraska, tied with Mitchell and Papillion-La Vista.
Lincoln Northwest: Lincoln Southwest outlasted Grand Island Northwest to win the second Capital City Classic. Resonance was one of three groups to notch its 25th win on Saturday (along with Piqua and Troy Buchanan). LSW closes its season with three wins, the same amount as 2024.
Papillion-La Vista: Liberty Middle School Flight ripped off its third consecutive division win – and this time, it came with the added bonus of being overall winner at this middle school-only competition. Flight also won the inaugural Monarch Explosion in 2023 and became the first repeat winner of the event.
Ohio
Hamilton: Piqua was the only large group at Double H Showcase and became the eighth different winner of the event. The Company extended its winning streak to five seasons and eclipsed 25 recorded wins, equaling Ohio groups ETC and Colerain.
Kenton: The inaugural Kenton Cup was expected to go to Huntington North – but the trophy went to a different North, North Royalton. Royal Harmony claimed its first-ever grand championship in a split-caption decision. The group has grown steadily under the guidance of Sydney Jahnigen, not competing a ton after the pandemic but making the most of the opportunities they have.
Medina: Solon beat in-state contemporary Fairfield as well as groups from Virginia, West Virginia, and Indiana to win the Midwest Showcase. It was Music in Motion’s fifth win at Medina, tied with Findlay for most all-time. With four wins on the year, Solon will attempt to close out an undefeated season this weekend at Homestead, battling several Indiana choirs. If they are successful, it will be their first five-win season since 2012.
Olentangy: Marysville Swingers Unlimited defeated a cadre of capable opponents to win Keynote Classic for the fourth time. It’s the third win for SU this season and keeps them right in the mix with Hurricane, Omaha Westside, and John Burroughs, as those schools scrap for spots in the back half of the all-time top-ten list.
South Dakota
Sioux Falls Washington: A bad weather forecast forced Sioux City East to drop out of Cameron and stay closer to home, competing at Best of Show instead. The Headliners continued their tear, staying undefeated on the year and taking six total captions. SCE now sits at 39 recorded wins, good for sole possession of 31st all-time, and 10 wins in South Dakota. Their fourth Best of Show triumph tied them with Aberdeen Central for most all-time.
Virginia
Clover Hill: Matoaca High Impact didn’t exist last year, as the program shrunk to just a girls group. Now back and kicking, the mixed group won its maiden outing of the season. It was Matoaca’s first overall win since this same competition two years ago. High Impact now has four wins at Mid-Atlantic, the most of any group.
West Virginia
Capital: Hurricane Red Hot, like at Loveland, took the choreography and band captions. Unlike at Loveland, Hurricane won the competition. Red Hot defended its home turf against a very potent Cosby Rhapsody that traveled over from Virginia. This was the first meeting between these two choirs since 2018, when Hurricane prevailed in a 1-2 battle at Menchville. This win was Red Hot’s 40th recorded win in West Virginia.
Wisconsin
Monona Grove: De Pere Jam Session scored one for the home state, beating Iowa City and Lewis Central for the win. It was Jam Session’s second win of the season – they now have three straight multi-win seasons. Their 10th win in Wisconsin puts them on the same level as Logan, Milton, Monona Grove, and Mt. Zion.
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