2017 Conroe Regional


Finals Results
(View full recap here)

1. (88.075) Vandegrift H.S., TX
2. (87.65) Ronald Reagan H.S., TX
3. (85.65) Leander H.S., TX
4. (84.70) James Bowie H.S., TX
5. (84.675) The Woodlands H.S., TX
6. (83.30) Hendrickson H.S., TX
7. (81.80) Round Rock H.S., TX
8. (80.85) Cy-Fair H.S., TX
9. (78.55) Winston Churchill H.S., TX
10. (78.30) Clear Brook H.S., TX

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

Prelims Results
(View full recap here)

Class A
1. Weiss H.S., TX
2. Bridgeland H.S., TX
Music: Weiss H.S., TX
Visual: Weiss H.S., TX
GE: Weiss H.S., TX

Class AAA
1. Leander H.S., TX
2. Clear Brook H.S., TX
3. Friendswood 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. Ronald Reagan H.S., TX
3. James Bowie H.S., TX
Music: Vandegrift H.S., TX
Visual: Vandegrift H.S., TX
GE: Ronald Reagan H.S., TX

Returning 2016 Finalists (9)
1. Ronald Reagan H.S., TX
3. The Woodlands H.S., TX
4. Hendrickson H.S., TX
5. Winston Churchill H.S., TX
6. T. W. College Park H.S., TX
7. Cy-Fair H.S., TX
8. James E. Taylor H.S., TX
9. Oak Ridge H.S., TX
10. Pearland H.S., TX

Previous Champions
2016: Ronald Reagan H.S., TX
2015: Ronald Reagan H.S., TX
2014: Claudia T. Johnson H.S., TX
2013: The Woodlands H.S., TX
2012: The Woodlands H.S., TX
2011: Marcus H.S., TX

States Represented (1)
Texas.

The 2017 Conroe, Texas, Regional will be held Oct. 7 at Woodforest Bank Stadium. In 2016, Ronald Reagan won its second consecutive victory.

Analysis
Despite many lost hours of practice time at the end of August and beginning of September because of flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey, we’re still expecting one of the strongest Houston-area regionals to date. With many top groups traveling over from Austin and San Antonio, these Houston locals will have stiff competition.

The Woodlands performs at the San Antonio Super Regional on Nov. 5, 2016, at the Alamodome. // Photo by Jeremiah Wooten
Our champion pick is The Woodlands, who could use this competition as the first step in repeating its 2013 national championship season. Everything we’ve seen and heard from the band so far this season is quite exceptional, and we’re excited to see what the judges think.

But there are several other groups who could also take the regional champion title. Vandegrift and Round Rock earned second and third, respectively, at the Austin Regional two weeks ago. With two weeks of work, either has the opportunity to steal the title. Plus, Round Rock is heading to Grand Nats this year, and they tend to put out even better products during Grand Nats years.

The top five should include Leander and Ronald Reagan. Leander is consistently at or near the top at every competition they compete, most recently earning fourth at the Austin Regional. As this show continues to develop, we could see them inch up even closer to the top. This is Reagan’s BOA premiere, so it’s hard to predict where they’ll land. But first impressions are very important, and we expect Reagan to make a good one. Who's knows, maybe they'll win the whole thing like they did last year!

Hendrickson performs at the Austin Regional on Sept. 23, 2017, at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex. The band earned seventh in finals. // Photo by Jeremiah Wooten
We were skeptical that Hendrickson would be able to create a show as good as last year’s, but they did. The Hawk band sounded incredible at Austin, and we can’t wait to see where they take it from here.

James Bowie and Winston Churchill also competed at the Austin Regional a couple weeks ago, each earning a finalist position. While it’s not guaranteed they’ll earn finals spots here, with the work they’ve been putting in the past two weeks, we think the odds are certainly in their favor.

The last two finalists spots are open for the taking from quite a few groups. Coppell sneaked into finals at the Southlake Regional, but their show has quite a bit of potential. As they continue to develop their production, we expect they’ll only go up. Brazoswood missed finals last year, but was in finals in 2015. It’s very possible they could also earn a finals spot this year.

With so many new groups, there simply aren’t enough spots for all of last year’s finalists: The Woodlands College Park, Cy-Fair, James E. Taylor, Oak Ridge, and Pearland made up the bottom half of finals last season, but will all be challenging Brazoswood, Coppell, and each other for those final two spots.

From top to bottom, this is yet another intense Texas regional, and we can’t wait to see how it all plays out!

Predictions
1. The Woodlands H.S., TX
2. Round Rock H.S., TX
3. Vandegrift H.S., TX
4. Leander H.S., TX
5. Ronald Reagan H.S., TX
6. Hendrickson H.S., TX
7. Winston Churchill H.S., TX
8. James Bowie H.S., TX
9. Coppell H.S., TX
10. T. W. College Park H.S., TX

Adjudication Panel
Music: Wayne Dillon, Nola Jones, Scott Koter, and David Starnes.
Visual: Ken Giese, Austin Greene, and Tim Ochran.
Chief: Gary Markham.