2018 Clarksville Regional


Prelims Results
(View full prelims recap here)

Class A
1. Union City H.S., TN
2. Murray H.S., KY
3. Campbellsville H.S., KY

Music: Union City H.S., TN
Visual: Union City H.S., TN
GE: Murray H.S., KY

Class AA
1. Clinton H.S., MS
2. North Hardin H.S., KY
3. Russell County H.S., KY

Music: North Hardin H.S., KY
Visual: Clinton H.S., MS
GE: North Hardin H.S., KY

Class AAA
1. Castle H.S., IN
2. Franklin H.S., TN
3. Siegel H.S., TN

Music: Castle H.S., IN
Visual: Franklin H.S., TN
GE: Castle H.S., IN

Class AAAA
1. O’Fallon Township H.S., IL
2. Mill Creek H.S., GA
3. Belleville East H.S., IL

Music: O’Fallon Township H.S., IL
Visual: O’Fallon Township H.S., IL
GE: O’Fallon Township H.S., IL

Finals Results
(View full finals recap here)

1. (82.10) O’Fallon Township H.S., IL
2. (80.20) Franklin H.S., TN
3. (78.95) Castle H.S., IN
4. (78.85) North Hardin H.S., KY
5. (75.95) Clinton H.S., MS
6. (73.25) Siegel H.S., TN
7. (72.85) Mill Creek H.S., GA
8. (72.60) Russell County H.S., KY
9. (71.85) DeSoto Central H.S., MS
10. (70.55) Central Hardin H.S., KY

Music: O’Fallon Township H.S., IL
Visual: (tie) Franklin H.S., TN
and O’Fallon Township H.S., IL
GE: O’Fallon Township H.S., IL

Returning 2017 Finalists (9)
1. Castle H.S., IN
2. Franklin H.S., TN
3. North Hardin H.S., KY
6. Central Hardin H.S., KY
7. Clinton H.S., MS
8. DeSoto Central H.S., MS
9. Siegel H.S., TN
10. Belleville East H.S., IL
11. Paragould H.S., AR

Previous Champions
2017: Castle H.S., IN
2016: Castle H.S., IN
2015: O’Fallon Township H.S., IL
2014: Castle H.S., IN
2013: not held
2012: North Hardin H.S., KY
2011: North Hardin H.S., KY

States Represented (8)
Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee.

The 2018 Clarksville, Tennessee, Regional will be held Sept. 29 at Austin Peay State University. In 2017, Castle won another regional champion title, beating out Franklin and North Hardin.

Our Thoughts
This year’s regional has nine finalists returning from 2017, leaving one spot if all nine make it again. Additionally, O’Fallon Township is returning for the first time since 2015 when they won the championship title. With O’Fallon and the nine finalists from last year competing again, earning a finals spot could be pretty difficult.

O'Fallon Township performs at the St. Louis Super Regional on Oct. 21, 2017, at the Dome at America's Center. // Photo by Jeremiah Wooten
Castle has won three out of the last four years, only losing to O’Fallon when they last attended in 2015. We expect to see another championship title from Castle this year as they have improved tremendously over the past few years. Castle made school history earning a spot in national finals for the first time in 2016 and jumping up two spots to eighth place and being named the national class AAA champion in 2017.

Castle and Franklin have consistently competed at the top of this regional since 2014. Castle pulled way ahead in 2017 beating Franklin by 2.6 points and sweeping performance captions. Once again, we expect to see Castle and Franklin back at the top, but perhaps with a smaller gap separating the two. Franklin welcomed Tim Pierce and Michael Townsend to their design team and have also made some changes to their visual instructional staff that we expect will put the group back on the right trajectory.

O’Fallon made some immense improvements during the 2017 season, earning 14th place at Grand Nationals, just three quarters of a point out of finals. The last time they competed here in Clarksville was 2015, and they took home the regional champion title. But that year, they only covered about half of the field with large white tarps, now the whole field is covered in tarps. Twice the tarps means twice the GE, right? We're joking a little bit, but we are excited to see how O'Fallon continues to explore colors, textures, and — with the addition of this year's props — height and depth on the blank canvas.

North Hardin has consistently placed behind Castle and Franklin ever since the two started participating in this regional in 2014. We expect this to be no different this year, but after being scored just .55 points lower than Franklin in 2017, the point gap could be close again with the help of North Hardin’s new show designer, Lindsey Vento, who started working with North Hardin this year. Vento is currently the artistic director and program coordinator at The Academy Drum Corps, and works with many high schools including Blue Springs and Grain Valley. We expect she’ll be a very positive addition to the North Hardin Band.

Camdenton performs in finals at the St. Louis Super Regional on Oct. 21, 2017, at the Dome at America's Center. // Photo by Jeremiah Wooten
Camdenton was not at the Clarksville Regional last year, but was named a finalist at Powder Springs and St. Louis. We expect a strong showing as they embark on an exciting year of performances, including competing at the San Antonio Super Regional and Grand National Championships. Mill Creek also had success at other events last season, finishing second behind national finalist Harrison at Powder Springs and making finals at the Atlanta Super Regional.

In the seventh to tenth range, we expect to see similar results as last year, which means a big group of Kentucky and Mississippi bands. In 2017, Central Hardin, Clinton, and DeSoto Central all scored within a point of each other. Russell County missed finals last year, but finished in sixth place at the Clarksville Regional in 2016 and fifth at the Oxford Regional just last weekend. All four will be looking to build and improve from the great performances of last year.

Siegel and Ravenwood have been in and out of finals the past few years and both look to make finals again after Ravenwood was three spots out last year. Paragould dropped four placements from 2016 to 2017, but remained in finals. For any of these groups, making finals would start their 2018 competition season on a strong note, but it won’t be an easy task. With the addition of Camdenton, Mill Creek, O’Fallon Township, and Russell County, finals spots are in short supply.

The fight for finals will be interesting and fun, and is one we are thrilled to see at the 2018 Clarksville Regional. The results of this regional will give us a preview to see how these bands will do all season long, and give us an idea of what Grand Nationals could look like, as many of the groups will be competing to earn a spot in semifinals and a couple even looking to make their mark in national finals.

HornRank contributor Noah Roof assisted in this event preview.

Predictions
1. Castle H.S., IN
2. O’Fallon Township H.S., IL
3. Franklin H.S., TN
4. North Hardin H.S., KY
5. Mill Creek H.S., GA
6. Camdenton H.S., MO
7. Russell County H.S., KY
8. Central Hardin H.S., KY
9. Clinton H.S., MS
10. DeSoto Central H.S., MS

Adjudication Panel
Music: Paul McGarr, Ronnie Rios, Mark Waymire, and Kyle Young.
Visual: Meghan McCourt, Carl Nelson, Michael Turner.
Chief: Dean Westman.