I know that past results don't necessarily mean anything, because any year can be completely different than years past. But have Omaha Westside or Hastings ever beaten GCS?
When do I get to meet you all? I've seen Temple from distances at competitions and when I'm visiting my Aunt who lives a block from him, but I've never even been anywhere close to my bff Taylor or Christopher or Jay or really anyone on here. I hate living in Western Iowa. Boo.
Why is WD Forte in the "Open Class"? Shouldn't they be with the other varsity groups?
This was sort of an assumption based off their being scheduled first... I'm not actually sure which division they're in. ><
They are a 3A school...so..they aren't a whole lot smaller. Altoona high school is also a smaller school too. But they are still in the Varsity division. Im just a bit puzzled from this
Maybe it was their directors request. Who knows maybe the answer will show up on saturday
How big is their school? At some competitions they put the smaller school varsity groups with larger school prep groups. Did they maybe do that here?
They are a 3A school...so..they aren't a whole lot smaller. Altoona high school is also a smaller school too. But they are still in the Varsity division. Im just a bit puzzled from this
Why is WD Forte in the "Open Class"? Shouldn't they be with the other varsity groups?
How big is their school? At some competitions they put the smaller school varsity groups with larger school prep groups. Did they maybe do that here?
Weather is all clear for CR and Lacrosse the whole week. I like snow but I'm loving this!
Same with omaha which beats the last two years where we had basically blizzard conditions on the drive up
Because someone is hounding me on getting predictions up for this competition. *cough*JONATHON*cough*.
Competitions this early in the year usually don't mean much other than who is ready this early. A group could be looking great in January but not get any better. Another group could be mediocre here and end up being one of the best groups in the nation at the end of the year. So keep that in mind.
Anyway. The top four here should be Omaha Westside, LaCrosse Central, Hastings, and Linn-Mar.
Westside is one of the most experienced choirs in the nation this year. The vast majority of their group is made of seniors who are fantastic and know show choir.
LaCrosse Central is a mystery to me other than what I've seen on youtube/SCC over the years. But they were very strong last year. I am not sure what they lost but I don't expect them to drop terribly much.
Hastings has really sprung onto the scene the past few years and I don't think they'll fall much anytime soon. I did hear they might be a little more inexperienced than past years but I think they will overcome it.
Linn-Mar always starts out the season very well. (Top three finish here the past three years).
The last two spots will be battled for between four other groups:
Cedar Rapids Xavier, Johnston, Milton Choralation, and Cedar Rapids Prairie.
Xavier, much like Hastings, has really come on the scene in the past few years. I don't really expect them to be a major grand championship group, but still a fantastic choir.
Johnston last year didn't impress me much. They were good. Very good. But they were just that: good. Nothing special, nothing great. Just a clean, good show. I'm hoping they add an extra spark this year but without it, they will be a 2ru-4ru group again.
Milton and Cedar Rapids Prairie might make a case for 5RU ahead of one of the above groups. These two are groups that aren't consistent but show flashes of something great. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if they step up and make finals.
So. Back to the competition.
I think there are three sets of possible placements.
Set 1 - GC/1RU: Westside and LaCrosse Central. I think these two groups will battle it out for the top spot.
Set 2 - 2RU/3RU: Linn-Mar and Hastings. Both are great groups but I think between inexperience and an early January competition, they will struggle to overcome the hump.
Set 3 - Johnston and Cedar Rapids Xavier. These two groups could finish higher or even lower. They're complete question marks for me. They've been great in recent years but I honestly don't know which way they will go from last years shows. Up or down or about the same. I'm excited to see though!
So where do I personally believe each group will finish?
GC: Omaha Westside
1RU: LaCrosse Central
2RU: Linn-Mar
3RU: Hastings
4RU: Johnston
5RU: Cedar Rapids Xavier
I just can't get past Westsides experience. I really expect greatness from the senior-filled group. Also the fact that I don't know much about GCS other than they were super awesome last year kinda helped ATSC on my predictions.
My one source about Hastings having a younger group is my reason for putting them this low. I don't even know how credible my source is to be honest but I'm going with it. That and Linn-Mar always does well early on in the season.
I put Johnston over Xavier because Xavier didn't really wow much last year outside of Waukee. Johnston last year was on the brink of great but just fell a little short. I think Johnston will climb over that hump this year.
I could really see this competition going a million different ways other than my predictions but with it being so early and no real facts on any group other than history these are what I have. I'm probably going to be waaaaaaaaaay wrong but hey. Thats what predictions are for.
Thank you for reading my book about Viterbo. I am at work, it is almost 5AM, and this wasted a good 20 minutes.
i didnt hound you. I just missed seeing your posts on this site ;)