2015 Atlanta Super Regional



Prelims Results:
(view full recap here)

Class A
1. Saint James School, AL
2. Seymour H.S., TN
3. Mount Pleasant H.S., NC

Music: Seymour H.S., TN
Visual: Seymour H.S., TN
GE: Saint James School, AL

Class AA
1. Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
2. Grain Valley H.S., MO
3. Morton H.S., IL

Music: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
Visual: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
GE: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL

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

Music: Fort Mill H.S., SC
Visual: Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN
GE: Harrison H.S., GA

Class AAAA
1. LD Bell H.S., TX
2. Winston Churchill H.S., TX
3. Cypress Falls H.S., TX

Music: LD Bell H.S., TX
Visual: LD Bell H.S., TX
GE: LD Bell H.S., TX

Finals Results
(view full recap here)

1. (94.55) Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
2. (90.90) LD Bell H.S., TX
3. (88.85) Harrison H.S., GA
4. (86.60) Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN
5. (86.50) Fort Mill H.S., SC
6. (85.55) Cypress Falls H.S., TX
7. (85.10) Winston Churchill H.S., TX
8. (84.10) Walton H.S., GA
9. (84.00) Westwood H.S., TX
10. (82.25) Wando H.S., SC
11. (81.90) Clements H.S., TX
12. (80.55) Centerville H.S., OH

Music: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
Visual: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
GE: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
About
The 2015 Atlanta Super Regional was held Oct. 30–31 at the Georgia Dome. Tarpon Springs was the clear victor, with an almost 4-point gap between Tarpon and second-place LD Bell.

Analysis
This year's Atlanta Super Regional was one of the most diverse events of the 2015 season. While Tarpon Springs winning was no surprise, the number of Texas bands that travelled all the way to Atlanta instead of competing in San Antonio was a big surprise.

We were not surprised to see Dobyns-Bennett, Fort Mill, and Harrison right next to each other in the final placements. These three Class AAA groups have had excellent seasons the past three years and are showing you don't have to be in Class AAAA to compete. In prelims, each of these groups won a caption in class in prelims.

Pre-Competition Analysis and Predictions
This year's Atlanta Super Regional looks like it could be the most regionally diverse competition this season. with bands from Texas to Florida and from Missouri to Maryland all in attendance.

The Champion (1st place)
The clear favorite is Tarpon Springs, who needs no explanation. They are clean, precise, and sound like a symphony even while moving. They are creative and extravagant, and the nature of their program lets them do practically whatever they want, however they want to do it. You can't enjoy marching band and not enjoy Tarpon Springs, gigantic treadmill-powered globes included. Oh and they also won grand nationals last year. No big deal.

The Nationalists (2nd-4th places)
All three groups in this category have been in the finals competition of the Grand National Championships in recent history. Only one of them will be attending this year, but for the other two, this is their chance to prove how they stack up against bands who compete on a national level.

Last year, Harrison and Wando placed third and fourth, respectively, but this year could be different. William Mason is not competing at the Atlanta regional this year, so Harrison and Wando have the opportunity to shift up a spot; however, there's also a chance for LD Bell to take Mason's spot.

Under the direction of Bobby Lambert, Wando had an incredible season in 2014, and we only expect improvement in the 2015 season. Unfortunately, they had to pull out of the Jacksonville Regional earlier this year because of the flooding in South Carolina, so this will be their BOA premiere and we can't wait to see the show.

After losing to Fort Mill at the Power Springs Regional, there was much speculation about the current status of the Harrison band. It's not unusual for Harrison to lost an early season regional, in fact, out of the past four year, Harrison has placed second in at least one round of competition at four of the five early season regionals they've participated in. Every year, they've showed incredible strides of improvement by the time Atlanta comes around, and we expect nothing different from this at this year's competition.

It's strange to see LD Bell traveling such a long distance to compete at Atlanta when the San Antonio Super Regional is happening simultaneously, much closer to home. If they're planning on returning to Grand Nats in 2016 or 2017, ten years after their Grand National Champion season of 2007, placing well at a super regional is a great first step.

The Middle of the Pack (5th-9th places)
Fifth place seems to be Dobyns-Bennett, a program coming off a great year, even if it was somewhat controversial and melodramatic. There’s no denying that this band is becoming a powerhouse, however, and they will look to improve on their surprisingly fantastic finish at Grand Nationals.

Centerville, Cypress Falls, East Coweta, and Fort Mill are all groups who could round out the middle of the pack and even steal that fifth place spot from DB.

Centerville competed at the Dayton Regional earlier this season and placed fourth. This group has a long history of successful performances in Grand Nats semis and we expect a spot in the middle of Atlanta finals to be easily attainable.

Cypress Falls finished fifth at the Conroe Regional, placing behind some really great Texas bands.

East Coweta improved over 13 points in just one week, going from a 65.20 at Powder Springs to a 78.85 at Jacksonville. We know you can't directly compare scores from different competitions, but their second place finish at Jacksonville is a good sign.

Fort Mill had an exciting start to the season, beating Harrison, then placing third at the Winston-Salem Regional behind Dobyns Bennett and Nation Ford. While some expect that to catapult them up to the top half of finals, we expect them to stay right here in the middle.

The Last Few Spots (10th-16th places)
After ninth place, it seems to be anyone's game, with at least seven groups fighting for the last three spots in finals.

Winston Churchill, from Texas, will be in the conversation for one of these last few finals spots. If results from Texas regionals provide an accurate estimate (although they normally don't), then Winston Churchill could be expected to score just a few points behind Cypress Falls and could find themselves in the middle.

Panther Creek was a surprise success last year, and they seem to be having a good season so far this year, placing third behind Nation Ford at Winston Salem.

Hillgrove had a great start to the season, placing third just behind East Coweta at the Jacksonville Regional. If they can catch up with East Coweta, they could easily find themselves towards the middle of finals.

If Father Ryan can stop their free fall from a level of true national competition, they could be in these last few spots of finals.

James Madison placed second at the Newark Regional two weeks ago and will be looking to secure on of these last few spots.

Walton and Mill Creek are two other solid Georgia bands that made finals at this contest last year and could be expected to do so once more.

Grain Valley will travel all the way from Missouri to participate, and will try to ride their success from St. Louis last year into success in Atlanta, though their trip to St. Louis this year did not yield the same results.

Predictions
1. Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
2. Wando H.S., SC
3. Harrison H.S., GA
4. LD Bell H.S., TX
5. Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN
6. Centerville H.S., OH
7. Cypress Falls H.S., TX
8. East Coweta H.S., GA
9. Fort Mill H.S., SC
10. Winston Churchill H.S., TX
11. Panther Creek H.S., NC
12. Hillgrove H.S, GA
Next five (alphabetically): Father Ryan H.S., TN; Grain Valley H.S., MO; James Madison H.S., VA; Mill Creek H.S., GA; and Walton H.S., GA