2016 Winston-Salem Regional



Prelims Results:
(view full recap here)

Class A
1. Licking Valley H.S., OH

Music: Licking Valley H.S., OH
Visual: Licking Valley H.S., OH
GE: Licking Valley H.S., OH

Class AA
1. Bassett H.S., VA, VA
2. Cape Fear H.S., NC
3. Cleveland H.S., TN

Music: Bassett H.S., VA, VA
Visual: Cape Fear H.S., NC
GE: Cape Fear H.S., NC

Class AAA
1. Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN
2. Nation Ford H.S., SC
3. Fort Mill H.S., SC

Music: Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN
Visual: Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN
GE: Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN

Class AAAA
1. James F. Byrnes H.S., SC
2. Panther Creek H.S., NC
3. Cary Senior H.S., NC

Music: James F. Byrnes H.S., SC
Visual: James F. Byrnes H.S., SC
GE: Panther Creek H.S., NC

Finals Results:
(view full recap here)

1. (84.40) Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN
2. (81.40) James F. Byrnes H.S., SC
3. (79.90) Panther Creek H.S., NC
4. (79.75) Fort Mill H.S., SC
5. (77.70) Nation Ford H.S., SC
6. (76.30) Bassett H.S., VA
7. (74.75) Cary H.S., NC
8. (74.35) Cape Fear H.S., NC
9. (72.80) Boiling Springs H.S., SC
10. (72.65) River Bluff H.S., SC

Music: Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN
Visual: Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN
GE: Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN

Participating Bands (28):
Ardrey Kell H.S., NC
Bassett H.S., VA
Boiling Springs H.S., SC
Cape Fear H.S., NC
Cary H.S., NC
Central Cabarrus H.S., NC
Chapin H.S., SC
Cleveland H.S., TN
Corinth Holders H.S., NC
Cuthbertson H.S., NC
Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN
Fort Mill H.S., SC
Green Hope H.S., NC
Henry Clay H.S., KY
Jack Britt H.S., NC
James F. Byrnes H.S., SC
Licking Valley H.S., OH
Mill Creek H.S., GA
Nation Ford H.S., SC
North Henderson H.S., NC
Northwest Guilford H.S., NC
Panther Creek H.S., NC
Providence H.S., NC
River Bluff H.S., SC
Sanderson H.S., NC
Union Pines H.S., NC
West Carteret H.S., NC
White Knoll H.S., SC

Returning 2015 Finalists (8):
1. Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN
2. Nation Ford H.S., SC
3. Fort Mill H.S., SC
4. Panther Creek H.S., NC
7. Green Hope H.S., NC
8. Boiling Springs H.S., SC
9. Cary H.S., NC
10. Bassett H.S., VA

Previous Champions:
2015: Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN
2014: Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN
2013: Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN

States Represented (7):
Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
About
The 2016 Winston-Salem Regional was held Oct. 15 at BB&T Field on the campus of Wake Forest University. Dobyns-Bennett secured a fourth consecutive Winston-Salem victory defeating James F. Byrnes.

DB continued to show its superiority over Carolina bands; no group was able to earn a first place score from even a single judge.

All of the top five groups will be competing at Grand Nats in about a month, but there likely won't be semifinals spots for all five of them. DB and Byrnes are currently in the best positions, but with a lot of hard work over the next few weeks, any of these groups could make it.

Analysis
Dobyns-Bennett will be returning to claim what we believe will be their fourth straight regional title at Winston-Salem. Closely behind this rising program will be this season’s Jacksonville champion, Nation Ford.

In 2015, Dobyns-Bennett snagged the title from Nation Ford by a quarter of a point. Already this this year, Nation Ford has managed to upset former Grand National finalist Kennesaw Mountain at Jacksonville, but Kennesaw has been having a rough year. We don’t think they can beat the defending champion as Dobyns-Bennett finished their 2015 season 15th and third in class AAA at Grand Nats and is only getting better year after year.

Fort Mill, James F. Byrnes, Panther Creek, and potentially Green Hope will be in close competition for the upper-middle slots in finals on Saturday. Aside from Byrnes defeating Fort Mill on Oct. 8, most of these groups have not competed against each other this season.

In 2015, there was a decent gap between second-place Nation Ford and third-place Fort Mill. This is not to say that Fort Mill is not competitive in Winston-Salem but it will be difficult to beat Nation Ford when they have their sights set on Grand Nats this year.

Panther Creek as come very close to the champion title at Winston-Salem in the past, most notably in 2014 when they won the prelims competition by 0.05 points and then lost to DB by a slightly larger fraction of a point. They will certainly stay in the top half of finals competition.

Outside of the returning top four from 2015, the majority of the competition is either new to Winston-Salem or returning after a year off. James F. Byrnes has not been terribly active in BOA in recent years, however, they were fourth at Jacksonville in 2014 ahead of Lassiter and McEachern, and had an exciting placement last weekend over Fort Mill.

We are confident that Boiling Springs will be in finals at Winston-Salem, but their recent history makes it difficult to say whether or not they will come out ahead of Cary, who was fourth in 2014 and finished right behind Boiling Springs in 2015.

As for the final spots at Winston-Salem, there are a number of groups who have attributions which we believe could put them in the top 10. For now, Mill Creek and White Knoll are our picks for those final two spots. In 2014, Mill Creek was in finals at Atlanta and placed 3rd at Powder Springs. Last season, Mill Creek attended Atlanta again but was not able to reclaim their finalist status. White Knoll has been away from the BOA scene for a year but in their last event, Winston-Salem 2014, they finished 8th overall and second in class AAA, right behind champion, Dobyns-Bennett.

There are several groups that we expect to see just outside of finals. Cape Fear won outstanding visual performance in class AA but failed to place in class or secure a spot in finals. This could possibly be their year to break into finals, but it appears that they've lost several days of rehearsal because of weather, which isn't a good sign. Bassett, Cuthbertson, and Licking Valley all have a chance of grabbing a finals spot as well.

Predictions
1. Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN
2. Nation Ford H.S., SC
3. James F. Byrnes H.S., SC
4. Fort Mill H.S., SC
5. Panther Creek H.S., NC
6. Green Hope H.S., NC
7. Boiling Springs H.S., SC
8. Cary H.S., NC
9. Mill Creek H.S., GA
10. White Knoll H.S., SC

Adjudication Panel
Music: John Bell, Paul Hinman, John Phillips, and Kris Quaale.
Visual: Bruce Jones, Curtis Costanza, and Marie Czapinski.
Chief: John Turner.