Last weekend, the Chesterton Show Choirs went to John Hersey High School to participate in the Chicagoland Showcase. It was a successful day for both show choirs as the Drifters took home yet another Grand Champion title and 3rd Runner Up in finals, while the Sandpipers took home 1st Runner Up in finals. Surprising no one, Luke Housman took home another “Best Bass Soloist” award, as well as winning the Solo Competition and a full-ride scholarship to the Show Choir Camps of America.
“It feels pretty good to have that opportunity to win again and have all my friends supporting me while I perform and win those awards,” senior Tenor Section Leader Housman said.
During preliminaries, the Drifters were announced as Grand Champions of their division and the caption awards of Best Vocals and Best Choreography. They also qualified for finals, being the only unisex group there that did. Their outstanding performer was Shayani Hall. The Sandpipers got a second chance to shoot for Grand Champions and went to finals with the Drifters.
“Last year, winning was something that we were working so hard for and then this year seeing it actually come true back to back has made me so proud of the team and I’m hoping we can continue to do it the rest of the season,” said senior Dance Captain Melanie Melton.
The Sandpipers went up against Wheaton North and battled for the top spot, but unfortunately fell short by one point. While losing by one point may be irritating, this is the closest in Chesterton Show Choir history that the Sandpipers have ever gotten to beating Wheaton North. The last time the Sandpipers went up against them was in 2021 when they took 2nd Runner Up against Wheaton North. While they didn’t take home any caption awards either, it was still considered a victory due to the Sandpiper’s persistence and amazing performance.
“I think a big thing is, even though we were one point away, it just shows we have to work a little bit harder, it’s really good that we competed with a team of that caliber and we were that close in competition,” said senior Dance Captain Hunter Liss.
This coming weekend, the Show Choirs will take on East Coast show choirs, such as John Burroughs, Troy Burroughs, and James River. These are some very large and difficult choirs to compete against, as many of them have a pretty consistent habit of winning with multiple captions.
“I think as long as we work hard and try our best and have fun, anything is possible for this weekend,” said Liss.
On Friday, the Drifters will perform and on Saturday, the Sandpipers will perform. Both days will have finals, giving both groups a chance to win Grand Champs in their division, as well as multiple caption awards.
