2017 Atlanta Super Regional


Prelims Results
(View full recap here)

Class A
1. Wesleyan School, GA
2. Oak Grove H.S., AL
3. Corner H.S., AL
Music: Wesleyan School, GA
Visual: Wesleyan School, GA
GE: Wesleyan School, GA

Class AA
1. Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
2. Coweta H.S., OK
3. Father Ryan H.S., TN
Music: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
Visual: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
GE: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL

Class AAA
1. Kennesaw Mountain H.S., GA
2. Fort Mill H.S., SC
3. Lafayette H.S., LA
Music: Fort Mill H.S., SC
Visual: Fort Mill H.S., SC
GE: Kennesaw Mountain H.S., GA

Class AAAA
1. Wando H.S., SC
2. Park Vista H.S., FL
3. Haltom H.S., TX
Music: Cedar Ridge H.S., TX
Visual: Wando H.S., SC
GE: Wando H.S., SC

Finals Results
(View full recap here)

1. (92.250) Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
2. (90.950) Wando H.S., SC
3. (89.200) Haltom H.S., TX
4. (88.600) Cedar Ridge H.S., TX
5. (87.050) Park Vista H.S., FL
6. (85.450) Kennesaw Mtn. H.S., GA
7. (85.150) Fort Mill H.S., SC
8. (84.300) James F Byrnes H.S., SC
9. (83.700) Green Hope H.S., NC
10. (81.900) Walton H.S., GA
11. (81.700) Coweta H.S., OK
12. (81.300) Mill Creek H.S., GA

Music: (tie) Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
and Wando H.S., SC
Visual: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
GE: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL

Returning 2016 Finalists (7)
1. Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
2. Wando H.S., SC
4. Park Vista H.S., FL
6. Walton H.S., GA
8. James F. Byrnes H.S., SC
10. Hillgrove H.S., GA
12. Kennesaw Mountain H.S., GA

Previous Champions
2016: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
2015: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
2014: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
2013: Broken Arrow H.S., OK
2012: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
2011: Tarpon Springs H.S., FL

States Represented (11)
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

The 2017 Atlanta Super Regional will be held Oct. 28 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In 2016, Tarpon Springs won the regional, but faced tough competition from Wando and Dobyns-Bennett.

Instead of reading our opinions, try listening to them on the HornRank Podcast:


Analysis
The Atlanta Super Regional will be held in the brand-new Mercedes-Benz Stadium this year. The $1.6 billion stadium will see some interesting competition at the top, and making finals in the first place will not be a cakewalk by any means.

The champion

Tarpon Springs performs at the Atlanta Super Regional on Oct. 29, 2016, at the Georgia Dome. // Photo by Jeremiah Wooten
Tarpon Springs will certainly be the winner here, and there are plenty of stats to back that up. They have won every Atlanta Super Regional dating back to 2013 (the last year Broken Arrow attended). During this stretch, they have won the GE category every year with the exception of 2013 (Again, Broken Arrow). They have been almost as dominant in the visual caption as well, winning six out of the past eight years. It is worth noting that Wando, the most recent group to beat Tarpon Springs in visual, will once again be competing in Atlanta. However, looking at their track record, it’s hard not to go with Tarpon Springs as the 2017 Atlanta Super Regional Champion.

The medalists

Cedar Ridge performs at the Austin Regional on Sept. 23, 2017, at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex. // Photo by Jeremiah Wooten
Cedar Ridge, Texas: Another Texas group is making the trip out to Atlanta. This is always exciting to see how the big Texas schools match up against their southeastern competitors. In this case, we think Cedar Ridge will do very well. Cedar Ridge placed sixth at the extremely competitive Austin Regional earlier this season. They should be in a good position to snag one of the top three spots.

Wando, South Carolina: This band was absolutely phenomenal last year. In 2016, they were able to win both music and visual over Tarpon Springs. However, Tarpon Springs’ strong GE performance proved to be the difference maker. Wando also made the trip to Grand Nationals this past season and was awarded an impressive eighth place finish. We expect big things from this group.

The locks

Park Vista, Florida: Park Vista blew us away in Atlanta last year. It was an entertaining and theatrical production that kept the audience on the edge of their seat. They busted our prediction by placing fourth, but it was absolutely deserved. Park Vista is one group you won’t want to miss come Saturday.

Fort Mill, South Carolina: Fort Mill has had an impressive season thus far. Most notably, they won the Winston-Salem Regional only a week and a half ago. That’s a pretty impressive accomplishment considering they beat previous national finalist Dobyns-Bennett. Will they be able to keep this pace going into Atlanta? We are excited to see what the ceiling is for this band.

Haltom, Texas: We talked earlier about Texas bands making the trip to Atlanta. Haltom is another group that we don’t know what to expect from. The band has made finals multiple times in St. Louis. With that in mind, we expect to be seeing Haltom on Saturday evening.

James F. Byrnes, South Carolina: Another great South Carolina band in the thick of the competition. Byrnes placed eighth at last year’s Atlanta Super Regional as well as a semifinalist performance at Grand Nationals. They also performed extremely well in Winston-Salem, coming within 0.6 points of Fort Mill. This group could certainly turn some heads.

Near locks

Coweta, Oklahoma: Coweta is a strong program from Oklahoma who most recently medaled at the Owasso Marching Invitational. They fell just short of Bixby and several points behind Union. They should be able to claim a spot in finals.

Walton, Georgia: Walton finished an impressive sixth place showing last year. Placing in the top half of finals at any super regional is an impressive accomplishment. The competition will be tight for the top half of finals, but Walton is once again a dark horse to sneak up there.

Bubble finalists

Green Hope, North Carolina: Coming off of a great fifth place performance in Winston-Salem, Green Hope will try to prove themselves at a much tougher Atlanta competition. They placed just two points off James F. Byrnes a couple weeks ago, and will look to close that gap this time around.

Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia: This band has a long history of success at BOA events, but fell to twelfth place, the last spot in finals, last year. We'll see if they're able to rebuild from that drop and returning the top half of finals, or if they'll remain closer to the bottom.

Lafayette, Louisiana: Performing bright and early on Saturday morning, Lafayette will be the only band representing Louisiana at Atlanta. They have an opportunity to really set the bar for competition at the very beginning of the day.

Lambert, Georgia: Lambert will be performing right after Lafayette at 8 am. Lambert claimed third place in Jacksonville this year after placing just 22nd in Atlanta last season, and they’ll be looking to keep that positive momentum rolling.

Mill Creek, Georgia: After finishing just three spots out of finals in Atlanta last year, Mill Creek will be looking to break through for a second performance on Saturday. We were impressed by Mill Creek’s second place performance behind Harrison in Powder Springs early this season.

Predictions
1. Tarpon Springs H.S., FL
2. Cedar Ridge H.S., TX
3. Wando H.S., SC
4. Fort Mill H.S., SC
5. Park Vista H.S., FL
6. James F. Byrnes H.S., SC
7. Coweta H.S., OK
8. Walton H.S., GA
9. Haltom H.S., TX
10. Green Hope H.S., NC
11. Lafayette H.S., LA
12. Mill Creek H.S., GA

Adjudication Panel
Music: John Bell, Marty Griffin, Jarrett Lipman, and Van Mathews.
Visual: Bret Mascaro, Neal Smith, and Robert Solomon.
Chief: Richard Saucedo.