BandFan59

Cannot say this enough, but Reagan's show is ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. That preshow is AMAZING!!!

Really enjoyed Bowie, that closer is fantastic!

John B. Alexander had a very nice performance

Reagan in 5th is certainly a very bold pick

Since everyone else has been posting predictions, here's my own list (it's a bit different from what I submitted into the predictions list earlier)... 1. Ronald Reagan: Fairly self-explanatory with the season they're having. Their show is one of my personal favorites (I love the beginning especially) and it would be a real contender for the eagle if they went to Grand Nats. Shame that they aren't, but it will almost certainly be a medalist here. 2. Flower Mound: They are having yet another fantastic season. Their show is very clean yet still has that Flower Mound oomph we've been accustomed to seeing from them the last 4 or 5 years. I think the gold medal will be a fight between them and Reagan. 3. Claudia Taylor Johnson: This is a bold pick considering most people have them in the range of 5-7, but I have a feeling that CTJ is going to shock a lot of us. This is a Grand Nats year for them and they've been pretty under the radar these last few weeks. I think they'll surprise everyone with a show that will get a very high GE score. 4. Hebron: Another band that is going to Grand Nats. I absolutely love their music package this year, and definitely think it is going to be a top 3 performance musically both here and at GNats. I think right now the show just seems to be a bit too dirty visually to medal here, but the music caption is definitely in their reach, and I think the two weeks they have from San Antonio till GNats will be just the right amount of time for them to peak. 5. Vandegrift: This is a bit of a shocker having them so low compared to everyone else. It's not that I think their show is bad or anything, but moreso that I think the four above them are a bit more interesting to me personally. They will definitely have excellent music scores, and I could see them finish at high as 2nd or 3rd. 6. Leander: I really enjoy their show this year. It has a lot more of an entertainment factor than some of the other bands (the Toxic production is excellent), which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I don't think this show has quite the extra oomph to medal here. Who knows what will happen at GNats though. 7. The Woodlands: A lot of people seem to be down on them this year compared to the other bands going to GNats. I personally really enjoy their show. The jazz/swing style is working really well for them in my opinion. It may not be a show that will score super high here, but I definitely think it'll be one of the most entertaining. 8. Vista Ridge: Unfortunately, I haven't personally been able to see their show yet this year, but from the placements/scores they've been getting and the talk about them, they're having another strong year. The top half isn't out of question for them. 9. Marcus: Their show seems to be a bit more of a classic Marcus show that reflects what they've always been known for: cleanliness. They aren't performing the most difficult show, but they execute it very well. 10. Keller: They surprised a lot of people by finishing second to Bowie at Waco. I think their relatively dirty closer was the main reason for this, and they've had two weeks since then to clean and refine the show since, and Keller seems to have a penchant for peaking right at the end of the season. 11. James Bowie: They also surprised many people by beating Keller at Waco by nearly 2 points and sweeping captions in prelims. I think they will bounce back nicely to finish this season and find themselves back in finals after being the first one out last year. 12. LD Bell: They are having another solid season, finishing 3rd at St. Louis as was expected by most everyone. They do seem to peak earlier in the season than at the end, but I think they will find themselves in San Antonio finals again. 13. Coppell: One of my personal favorite shows this season! They had a solid showing at DFW and did well at St. Louis, especially in music where they were 2nd in prelims only behind Broken Arrow and 3rd in finals behind BA and Blue Springs. These two weeks since then will have been great time for them to clean up visually and I think with their strong music performance they will find themselves back in finals for the first time since 2013. 14. Cedar Park: I was debating very strongly between them and Cedar Ridge, but ultimately I think Cedar Park will be the one to take the last finals slot. Their show is definitely a little bit more UIL-oriented, but I think their cleanliness will put them over the top and be able to get them back into finals (and they should easily be the favorites to take the state championship too). Music: Hebron Visual: Flower Mound/Ronald Reagan (tie) GE: Ronald Reagan First Out: Cedar Ridge: They could easily be in finals over Cedar Park, and even higher than that, but it's a very narrow margin between all of these bands from 12-20. Bubble bands that could definitely find themselves in finals (in general order from most likely to least likely): Westwood Westlake Rouse Wakeland Lake Travis Vista Murrieta Thoughts are welcome!

Seems he is focusing on bands that have never made San Antonio finals, which Coppell has made in the past.

To be fair, Coppell finished above Lake Travis in both prelims and finals (.45 points in prelims and 5 points in finals) so if you are going to have Lake Travis as a bubble band, Coppell should be right in the middle there.

Not many people have seen them since BOA Austin, so no one really knows what to expect. Knowing CTJ though, they'll have made a ton of improvements since Austin and I wouldn't be surprised to see them maintain their top 5 standing at San Antonio.

If anyone could get an unlisted video of Avon when this competition takes place that would be greatly appreciated

I think Keller's relative dirtiness in their closer costed them a bit more at Waco. They'll have had two weeks between then and San Antonio to be able to clean that up and peak at the right moment as they seem to do every year. They'll also be competing against Hebron and Marcus tomorrow at the Duncanville Marching Invitational which will be a good meter to compare them by.

I'd say Bowie are probably an edge above the other four at the moment, although obviously any of the five can come out on top. The gap is definitely very small between all five of them.

I know this has been said many times already, but Ronald Reagan's show is absolutely incredible. They are performing at such a high level, especially visually.

Marcus and Hebron pulling the EARLY time slots is a bit unfortunate for them

LD Bell slip your mind?

I think it can be a good thing for the performers that have never performed in the Alamodome, or have only done so once. It allows them to be able to get a feel for how the stadium will sound and get a "practice" run in it before the state contest. However, it can cut into the crucial last few hours of rehearsal time they have if they choose to stay in San Antonio over the weekend.

Judging off the recently released new HornRank rankings, the following bands will be at San Antonio: #1 Ronald Reagan #3 Flower Mound #6 Vandegrift #7 Hebron #8 Leander #10 Claudia Taylor Johnson #11 Vista Ridge #13 Marcus #15 The Woodlands #17 LD Bell #18 Cedar Ridge #21 James Bowie #22 Westwood #23 Keller #25 Coppell #29 Rouse #31 Westlake Next 10 Cedar Park Next 10 Lake Travis Next 10 Wakeland This massive list does not even include other previous finalists like Round Rock, Hendrickson, etc. What a bloodbath!

I think the extra week between San Antonio and Grand Nats this year will make a world of difference for our Texas bands. They'll have more time to take the critiques from San Antonio and make their final polishing adjustments.

That sounds like it'd be very stressful to the performers, haha.

Keller is a group that does seem to excel at peaking right at the very end of the season at San Antonio, and their closer does still need a bit of cleaning from where it was at Waco. Although I personally have Keller in 3rd over Haltom, I wouldn't be totally surprised to see Haltom place over them, as they had a very strong showing at St. Louis.

Hebron, Marcus, and Keller will all be competing against each other this coming weekend at the Duncanville Marching Invitational, so that competition will be a good preview for San Antonio.

Very disappointing to hear this, the students must be devastated.

Of the Texas finalists at St. Louis, I think only LD Bell, Coppell, and Lake Travis are attending San Antonio.

Fair enough. Interestingly, both Haltom and LD Bell had an 87.5 in prelims if I'm reading the recaps correctly, but Haltom had a 53.0 in GE, while LD Bell had a 52.8. So tight!

Just curious, what were your personal rankings?

A big congratulations to James Bowie! Now time to wait for St. Louis results...