abtwitch

Not a confirmation and only speculation based off of patterns, but I think Westwood has a really good chance of returning given their region date being moved to Tuesday.

We also have a confirmation that Vista Murrieta from California will be making the trip, rooting for them to make finals! But that makes 2 confirmed out of state bands so far, do you think we could see anymore?

Not to mention Pflugerville and Friendswood have a very solid chance.

One of my favorite shows that didn't make state (as an alum, guilty with bias) has to be Westwood 2012. Their show Finding Balance was one point behind Round Rock for making state and it was a beginning of a growth that the group is still going through. Both Westwood and Jack C. Hays had fantastic shows this year that I feel like could've done well at state if more bands advanced. UIL, please do something about Area D, it's too top heavy haha. Timber Creek this year was absolutely stunning and it's a shame that UIL only takes 1 from a tie because I think TC deserved state more than anyone else in that area (barring maybe Waxahachie and Keller, of course). On the outside of Area B finals, Richland also had a lot going for them and I'm kinda sad their season was rougher than previous years from a number standpoint because they were amazing. UIL, also fix Area B while you're at it, it's too dense.

Gotcha, I was really confused for a second lmao. But I agree, Prosper placing 9th and making Grand Nats finals (and placing as high as 7th in semis) is a great example of the relative competitiveness of Texas regionals against out of state.

Along with Waxahachie, it looks like Wakeland will be returning after their year off which is exciting to see.

Prosper never signed up for Waco and Waco didn't happen, so I'm assuming this a joke?

I did the same thing for GN semis (only going back to 1996 when the semis format was introduced). Saw some familiar names that I didn't realize had made the trek up to Nats! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Ac0IuGjSg2-sJpo6KkNy-nJ6worwvc7YGF63inxWU4Q/edit?usp=sharing

Austin regional is looking like it might be there soon. Specifically in 2017, Westwood got 11th at the regional and proceeded to place 6th at St. Louis and 19th at San Antonio (just behind Round Rock, who did make finals). Even more of note in STL prelims, Westwood placed 4th (ahead of Owasso and Grain Valley) and even beat Blue Springs in music. Looking further in depth, had Westwood attended they would've most likely not made it considering Round Rock was also the last group to make it into finals, but I would confidently say that they would've been in the top 16. Taking a look at who missed finals these past 2 years, we have Pflugerville, Carroll, and Westwood at Austin. Pflugerville is working their way up and Carroll kinda came out of no where and didn't ever have surprising results again the rest of the season. Westwood is the only group who's performed at a near-GN finals level in recent years, so I'd say that would've been the most likely to have made it in 2018. At DFW, Coppell was less than a half of a point behind 10th and 1.5 points ahead of 12th and considering their 18th place finish at SA (same as Round Rock in 2017) they would've had a solid shot this year. They also tied for 10th in 2017, making them an 11th place finalist. It's a shame they decided to drop for 2019, but I could easily see them medaling at STL so that is exciting. In 2017, Pflugerville placed 12th, just .15 behind Coppell and Timber Creek. For Houston, we had Stephen F. Austin and Pearland just out of finals. SFA has a history of making finals at Grand Nats and while they may have dropped out of that level in recent years, they're on their way back up and as I've heard might be planning on returning in 2020. Pearland was 12th in both 2017 and 2018, and based off of their 2017 SA results, it's safe to say they would've been in finals had they attended. I'm not including JET in the mix from 2017 because they rose up and made finals in 2018, and they tend to have stronger early seasons anyways, but who says they'll be that way forever. All in all, I could see this become a reality with the rate the activity is continuing to grow in Texas. We are at a point in Texas' density of competition where I could confidently say that the top 35ish bands would make top 25 at Grand Nats easily and all of those groups would contend for finals with a few years of improvement, bar the SA top 20 who I'd say are already all safe bets if not locks.

Seven Lakes is in Katy, a Houston suburb so they are technically still in the triangle.

Did you not see them this past year? They've made MASSIVE strides since 2017, a completely different group so referencing 2017 Area results is a bit unfair.

The thing I'm most curious about is the attendance for Waco, being on the biggest region day in the state. We really won't know who will be attending until region dates are released.

I'd say no, I see Wylie East above most of the Frisco schools barring LT and Wakeland. 3/4 is completely possible, but Lovejoy also made some sound this year.

One of my good friends graduated from one of the high schools that "stole" Just Another Brick, they have nothing but respect for the band whose show they bought. In reality, the show designer probably put it up for sale and the band in question bought it because they can't afford their own show design team. North Lamar has used Tarpon Springs shows for a while now and are probably the strongest 4A band in the state (yes, I disagree with this years results, but that's another rabbit hole I'm not going into in this thread). Buying shows and playing them is not a new concept and was in no way a targeted attack at Hendrickson. Also, liking a show is subjective. I and many others (as a few have stated) loved Iditarod.

Wylie East, Colleyville Heritage, Granbury, and Lovejoy all had fantastic seasons this fall and there's also Forney who's always fantastic.

Don't forget about programs like Lovejoy and Wylie East who've really stepped it up these past few years. Medaling at your 2nd BOA Contest ever is no joke, even if it is "just" Midland. Here's my locks for finals: Frisco Centennial Lebanon Trail Lone Star Wakeland The Colony Lovejoy McKinney North Wylie East

Competitors for state spots are looking to be Dripping Springs, Weiss, Pflugerville, Georgetown, McCallum, Hutto, and Connally, only 3 or 4 will get to go however depending on how region plays out.

Westwood has been talking about it, not confirmed yet but definitely a possibility!

I did the "painstaking" job of finding videos and watching all of the top 50 groups from BOA San Antonio 2017, so I thought I would make my predictions for who will be in the gunning for top 50 instead of just finals. So many great shows that get overlooked, especially once you get passed the top 30. Panel 1: Friday: Block 1: 8:15 Smithson Valley - coming off of a premiere in Area finals 10:00 Hendrickson - state qualifier, consistent BOA finalist since 2016 Block 3: 2:15 Rouse - contender for class AA title after their fantastic showing at Austin in early season 2:45 Weiss - another contender for class AA just 2 slots after Rouse, just coming off their fantastic showing at St. Louis ahead of groups like Owasso and Grain Valley 3:00 Lake Travis - yet another year in Area finals, stronger than last year 3:15 Westlake - state qualifier, a hard maybe for BOA finals though 3:45 Round Rock - the way their show has improved since early season is shocking, wouldn't be surprised to see them sneaking back into finals 4:00 Cedar Ridge - not a massive fan of the show, but they perform the heck out of it and I'd be surprised seeing them missing finals Block 5: 7:15 Leander - had an incredible performance at Austin and is improved from last year's show immensly 7:30 Ronald Reagan - already has a notable BOA title from Houston above other powerhouses, in contention for gold 7:45 Cedar Park - as has been mentioned, hasn't missed BOA finals in over a decade and showing no signs of missing again 8:00 Del Rio - a valley group on the rise with a finals appearance at Midland already this year 8:15 Pflugerville - just dropped down to 5A, but stronger than ever; big surprise with them one out of finals at Austin and has the potential to really bring at the Alamodome 8:30 Keller Central - has been consistently in the top half of BOA San Antonio consistently and was just on the outside of finals at Bedford this year 9:00 J.E. Taylor - had a fantastic showing at Area this past weekend and will be performing again for the state marching contest 9:30 Keller - easily a lock for finals after their very impressive performance at every competition they've been to this year Saturday: Block 2: 10:00 L.D. Bell - gonna really be pushing to make finals here after missing state this past weekend, strong as always despite said results 10:15 Clear Brook - was just 1 spot from qualifying for state and had a FANTASTIC performance last year at this competition 10: 30 Friendswood - not too sure about this group after their director change and surprisingly low placement at BOA Houston, but I'm not counting them out as it's been a few weeks 10:45 James Martin - similar to Keller Central, consistently in the top half and was on the outskirts of finals at Bedford 11:00 College Park - state qualifier and consistently is top half at this competition, just out of Houston finals and had a very strong showing at Lone Star Preview 11:15 Hebron - massive contender for the title and if not, still probably will win the music caption 12:00 Timber Creek - what a breakout year for them! First their first BOA title at Midland and strong showing at Bedford, they could easily slip their way into finals. Super unfortunate how they missed out on state, but they were tied with DVille and lost judge's choice 12:30 Camdenton - the third class AA title contender and our single annual out-of-stater Panel 2: Friday: Block 2: 11:00 Seven Lakes - a fantastic followup to their breakout year last season, they have two BOA finals appearances under their belt this season and will be looking for another, as well as being a state qualifier 11:15 McNeil - really impressed with their show this year and we have yet to see them in BOA this season (thanks rain), as a little sister of sorts to my high school, I'm really rooting for them here 11:30 L.D. Brandeis - area finalist and was top 50 last year, been hearing really good things about them this season as well 12:30 S.D. O'Connor - despite their director change and apparent drop, I still feel like they have the ability to push the top 50 again 1:00 - Jack C. Hays - After watching a video of their area performance which earned them state alternate in one of the most competitive areas, I have no doubt that they will be in the top 50 this year after placing 51st last season Block 4: 4:30 Winston Churchill - while still not too their old levels of performance, Churchill is still a top of the line group and will be in the top 25 for sure 4:45 Ann Richards - while still probably won't be in the top 50, will more than likely be the class A champion 5:00 Vandegrift - was top 3 last year and could easily medal again after seeing their success this season 5:45 Westwood - GO WOOD! Definitely has cleaned up their show and made significant changes that will help them with GE; probably won't make finals, but shouldn't be counted out and will be right up there 6:00 Flower Mound - no real introduction needed, area champions and defending state champion 6:15 J.B. Alexander - after medaling with their beautiful performance at McAllen early season and earning their way into the state contest for the first time in quite some time, they will be looking to make a mark on the Alamodome a few days early 6:45 James Bowie - has had incredible success this season and has really stepped it up from last year Saturday: Block 1: 7:15 Vista Ridge - the amount they've grown since last season is awe-inspiring, won't have their chance of making finals hurt by the early performance time 7:30 Roma - historical valley powerhouse that will more than likely have cleaned up since McAllen 7:45 Southwest - defending class AA champion that will still be competitive despite the massive gain of competition in this classification this year 9:00 Oak Ridge - what a year for them so far with their outstanding results at BOA Houston and other local competitions, could even sneak into finals very slimly 9:15 Pearland - if we learned anything from last season, it's that Pearland doesn't care what they made at BOA Houston and neither should you. Definitely looking to break into finals this year especially after their area championship title Block 3: 12:45 The Woodlands - after their rough season last year with the hurricane, they are ready to make a comeback and are in conversation for gold 1:15 Plano East - haven't heard much about them this season, but I don't expect that they've gone anywhere 1:30 Wylie - after last year's surprising 22nd placement, they will definitely come back strong this year once again 1:45 Marcus - still a lock for finals despite them losing Drinkwater this year, don't expect anything less from them 2:00 Prosper - they've been all over the place this season, but have been in finals no matter what; definitely looking to have their first of hopefully many runs in a dome be fantastic 2:15 Coppell - were fantastic last year and even better this year, will very likely be in the top 20 2:30 Haltom - been a hot second without them at this competition, will be looking to make their return very strong after they finished 3rd at Atlanta last season 2:45 Spring - a historical Houston powerhouse and previous national champion; a shell of their former selves, but still a fantastic program to keep your eyes on 3:00 Pioneer - in a similar position as Roma following their relatively low placement at McAllen, another one of the many fantastic class AA groups here 3:15 C.T. Johnson - an obvious contender for the title considering their massive success so far this season and being the defending BOA San Antonio champion There's my top 25 (ft. Ann Richards) from each panel with many other fantastic programs that I'm probably forgetting. Super excited for this competition, but bummed I won't be able to make it down this year.

Austin is looking very clear today, can't wait to go watch Region 26 tonight and see everyone!

For sure, I could easily see Canyon snagging a spot after they beat NB not too long ago. Or even Belton or Harker Heights, they've really stepped it up this year.

Round Rock and Dripping Springs are pretty much locks for the top 2 with Round Rock more than likely taking gold. After that, it's gonna be interesting. I'm personally hoping for Belton to upset and take bronze, but Connally and Cedar Creek are also strong enough of programs to possibly take 3rd.

They'll have more for sure by this weekend, a lot of bands don't finish their shows until October. Also, they'll be in finals. Being just a point behind Marcus at HEB was no mistake and they'll be fighting for top 5 (though I still have them in the bottom half).

How did I not hear about this? I might've shown up if I knew about it :/

considering they're low placement at the significantly less competitive McAllen regional earlier this season, they'd have to have grown a lot to make this a reality. I'll be super happy for Lehman if they do, but at this moment I don't see it happening.