2016 Austin Regional



Prelims Results:
(view full recap here)

Class A
1. Ann Richards School, TX
2. Whitesboro H.S., TX
3. Cuero H.S., TX

Music: Whitesboro H.S., TX
Visual: Whitesboro H.S., TX
GE: Ann Richards School, TX

Class AA
1. Burnet H.S., TX
2. East View H.S., TX
3. Medina Valley H.S., TX

Music: Burnet H.S., TX
and East View H.S., TX
Visual: Burnet H.S., TX
GE: Burnet H.S., TX

Class AAA
1. Leander H.S., TX
2. Cedar Park H.S., TX
3. Rouse H.S., TX

Music: Leander H.S., TX
Visual: Leander H.S., TX
GE: Leander H.S., TX

Class AAAA
1. Vandegrift H.S., TX
2. Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S., TX
3. Round Rock H.S., TX

Music: Vista Ridge H.S., TX
Visual: Vandegrift H.S., TX
GE: Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S., TX

Finals Results:
(view full recap here)

1. (80.05) Vandegrift H.S., TX
2. (79.05) Leander H.S., TX
3. (77.85) Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S., TX
4. (77.25) Cedar Park H.S., TX
5. (76.40) Round Rock H.S., TX
6. (73.15) Vista Ridge H.S., TX
7. (72.65) Winston Churchill H.S., TX
8. (72.05) Hendrickson H.S., TX
9. (71.10) Westlake H.S., TX
10. (70.70) Cedar Ridge H.S., TX

Music: Vandegrift H.S., TX
Visual: Vandegrift H.S., TX
GE: Vandegrift H.S., TX

Participating Bands (31):
Aledo H.S., TX
Anderson H.S., TX
Ann Richards School, TX
Burnet H.S., TX
Byron P. Steele H.S., TX
Cedar Park H.S., TX
Cedar Ridge H.S., TX
Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S., TX
Cuero H.S., TX
Dripping Springs H.S., TX
East View H.S., TX
Hendrickson H.S., TX
John Paul Stevens H.S., TX
Leander H.S., TX
McCallum H.S., TX
Medina Valley H.S., TX
North Crowley H.S., TX
Pflugerville H.S., TX
Randall H.S., TX
Robert E. Lee H.S., TX
Round Rock H.S., TX
Rouse H.S., TX
Smithson Valley H.S., TX
Stony Point H.S., TX
Vandegrift H.S., TX
Vista Ridge H.S., TX
W. Charles Akins H.S., TX
Westlake H.S., TX
Westwood H.S., TX
Whitesboro H.S., TX
Winston Churchill H.S., TX

Returning 2015 Finalists (9):
1. Leander H.S., TX
2. Cedar Park H.S., TX (Music)
3. Round Rock H.S., TX (Visual)
5. Vandegrift H.S., TX
6. Hendrickson H.S., TX
7. Cedar Ridge H.S., TX
8. Dripping Springs H.S., TX
9. Vista Ridge H.S., TX
10. Winston Churchill H.S., TX

Previous Champions:
2015: Leander H.S., TX
2014: James Bowie H.S., TX
2013: James Bowie H.S., TX

States Represented (1):
Texas.
About
The 2016 Austin Regional was held Sept. 24 at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex. Vandegrift won an exciting victory over district-mates Leander and Cedar Park.

It was Vandy's first regional champion title, but will likely not be their last. In the school's short history, these musicians have managed to impress audiences and judges every season, and this year is no different.

In the prelims competition, the placements were reversed, with Leander winning first and Vandegrift second. It's not uncommon for placements to change like this after the field is whittled down from over 30 groups to just 10, especially when groups are so evenly matched.

Analysis
The Austin Regional will continue to be one of the most competitive events of the year, featuring all but one of last year's top 15 groups and several new bands that aim to bump some of those groups out of finals.

This regional will be one of the hardest to predict on the entire schedule, but after finals is complete, we will hopefully have a clearer picture of which groups are poised to make a push for the championship title at San Antonio.

Looking beyond San Antonio, this will be our first chance to see three Grand National (projected) finalists: Cedar Park, Claudia Taylor Johnson, and Leander. A good performance here could set up any of these three groups to take the Eagle back to Texas.

Claudia Taylor Johnson is a nationally recognized program that has enrolled in the Austin regional for the first time since 2013. CTJ has had consistent success at regional and super regional events and will be making a trip to Grand Nationals this year.

Leander won this regional in 2015, but only by a 0.05 point margin, and with the help of a 0.5 point penalty levied against Round Rock.

Cedar Park placed a twentieth of a point behind Leander last year, capturing the music caption. With the level of musical excellence demonstrated by Texas bands, winning the music caption is almost as impressive as winning the whole competition.

Beyond these top three that are competing at Grand Nats, there are several other groups that are certain to be in finals. Cedar Ridge, Hendrickson, Round Rock, and Vandegrift all have a good shot of taking one of the last two spots in the top half of finals. Whichever two don't make the top half, though, will certainly be in the bottom half.

We expect Dripping Springs, Vista Ridge, and Winston Churchill to round out the rest of the finalist bands, but don't rule out challengers like Anderson, Westlake, and other dark horse groups.

All in all, Austin 2016 has a very similar line up to the 2015 edition, but the results won't necessarily fall out the same way.

Predictions
Predictions represent the majority opinion of the HornRank staff.
1. Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S., TX
2. Cedar Park H.S., TX
3. Leander H.S., TX
4. Round Rock H.S., TX
5. Vandegrift H.S., TX
6. Cedar Ridge H.S., TX
7. Hendrickson H.S., TX
8. Vista Ridge H.S., TX
9. Winston Churchill H.S., TX
10. Dripping Springs H.S., TX

Adjudication Panel
Music: Matt Harloff, Matt McCready, David McGrath, and Travis Moddison
Visual: John Fisher, Kyle Miller, and Tim Ochran
Chief: Gary Markham