BOA_DCI

Speaking of Avon's tough schedule here's who they have to compete against at each. Canton- The returning 2nd place band is Moon Area if that says anything about Avon's competition Fisher's Invitational- Schedule isn't out yet, but I'm guessing Brownsburg is their comp. Dayton- Main comp is Carmel ISSMA Regional- This is just a qualifier for semi state Indy Super- Main comp is Carmel San Antonio - Main comp is Flower Mound, but many more bands will be gunning for Avon and Flomo Grand Nationals - comp from Broken Arrow, Carmel, Flower Mound, Mason, and The Woodlands One thing to note is that by nationals Avon will have already competed against Carmel, Flower Mound, and The Woodlands but not Broken Arrow or Mason. It will be interesting to see how things go.

Here are my San Antonio predictions: 1. Avon- Based off of them getting 2nd the past 2 years at nationals Avon is definitely in it to win it this year. This spot could very well be interchanged with Flower Mound, but I give the edge to Avon because not only do they have the best brassline in the country and can play on par with almost every band in Texas, but their visual is what will put them into 1st at San Antonio. Also who doesn't love some Maslankas 4th . 2. Flower Mound- Flower Mound proved last year that they are certainly a powerhouse school, and their playing can only be rivaled by few groups across the nation. Like I said before them and Avon are interchangable at first I just think unless Flower Mound makes huge strides visually then they will get the silver medal this year. 3. Claudia Taylor Johnson- This may surprise many people, but I truly believe this will be a bounce back year for CTJ. They managed to place 4th at San Antonio last year and then unfortunately fell to 10th at nats. I think this year will be more like 2014 and 2015 for CTJ where they placed 1st and 3rd at San Antonio. Claudia Taylor Johnson has also placed below 5th in finals at San Antonio only once in the past 7 years. 4. Leander- Leander has been on the rise for the past few years. After placing 15th at San Antonio in 2013 they went on to place 3rd in 2014 and 2016, and even placed 6th at Nats in 2016. With the upward trajectory of the group, I think a top 4 finish is a good spot for Leander. 5. Vandergrift- Another band that is certainly on the up and coming Vandergrift has the potential to become the next Flower Mound. I have heard their music recording and I was very impressed especially for MAY. Last year they won the Austin regional over CTJ and Leander and placed 3rd in prelims at San Antonio before falling to 7th in finals. With their season ending at San Antonio I feel like 5th place is a good spot for them and certainly attainable. 6. The Woodlands- After a fairly disappointing start to their season last year The Woodlands were able to develop their show and place 2nd at San Antonio last year and manage to steal the GE caption from Flower Mound in prelims. I have them at 6th because this is a nats year for The Woodlands and I do believe their show will peak in Indy and not at San Antonio. 7. Marcus- Another Nats bound Texas band Marucs managed to place 2nd at Plano last year behind fellow LISD Flower Mound while staying ahead of Hebron and they placed 6th at San Antonio last year. Marcus has only fallen below the top half of finals once in the past 7 years, and with nats on their schedule they will be tough to beat. 8. Hebron- This shows the depth of San Antonio if I have the band that put up the single highest score record placing 8th. Hebron is a very good program, and one the best musically in the country. Last year they placed 5th at San Antonio and 3rd at Plano. San Antonio will be super close this year and I think Hebron could easily move up 3 or 4 spots, I just have them at 8th for now. 9. James Bowie- After declining placements the past 2 years I think James Bowie will bounce back this year. The new visual rule will definitely benefit them as James Bowie has one of the best colorguards in the country. 10. Cedar Park- Cedar Park placed 9th last year at San Antonio last year but then went on to place 5th at Grand Nationals, which was the highest out of any Texas band that attended. I feel like with such a stacked group this year it will be hard for Cedar Park to repeat their 9th place finish, but they willl certainly be close. 11. Ronald Reagan- After early season success last year beating CTJ and The Woodlands en route to a victory at the Conroe regional. At San Antonio Ronald Reagan fell to 8th in finals, and they also managed to place 7th at nationals. Ronald Reagan is another group where their placing could be like 2015 (2nd) or like 2016 (8th), but once again with many great bands coming to San Antonio this year and new bands on the rise I feel like it will be tough for Ronald Reagan to maintain a top 10 spot. 12. Round Rock- After bursting onto the scene in 2013 with a 4th place finish at Nationals Round Rock has not seen much improvement placings wise, but they have maintained the same high quality of performance. It is more of a testament to the improvement of other bands than a decline from Round Rock. We'll see how they do since this is a Nats year and like The Woodlannds, Round Rock tends to save their best for last. 13. Winston Churchill- Churchill placed 11th at San Antonio Finals last year, but this year you add Avon and James Bowie above them and they drop to 13th. Also making an appearance at Grand Nationals, Churchill will be more focused on that as one of the bubble bands this year. 14. LD Bell- In 2016 LD Bell placed 4th at Plano ahead of James Bowie, Keller, and Winston Churchill. They then fell to 16th at San Antonio leaving them just 2 spots out of finals. Personally I thought LD Bell should have been in finals last year, but this year hopefully we see another finals appearance from this legendary group. Visual:Avon Music:Flower Mound GE:Avon

Avon has consistently beaten Texas bands in music at Grand Nationals (besides LD Bell 2007, The Woodlands 2013, and Hebron 2015) I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss them from winning the music caption.

He meant that the age demographic for Avon was mostly younger kids probably around 14-16 was the majority of the band.

On a side note: In 2015 Carmel placed 5th at Nationals, and last year many people projected them to place 6th but they ended up winning. So anyone could win. Like I said in my first post Carmel, Mason, The Woodlands, and Marcus are severally underrated coming into the 2017, but I think any of those 4 could medal or even win.

For me The Woodlands, Marcus, and Round Rock are pretty hard to place. While The Woodlands won in 2013 they're return in 2015 resulted in 6th place. It all depends on the show the Woodlands have this year. Marcus is a huge hit or miss. In 2013 they placed 5th at Nats, but in 2012 they obliterated everyone at San Antonio and would've medaled had they gone to Nats. Round Rock placed 4th at Nats in 2013 and then 2015 placed 7th. I know there are so many factors that go into placement, I just think it's hard to predict these 3 groups.

My predictions as of now are: 1. Broken Arrow HS, OK 2. Flower Mound HS, TX 3. Avon HS, IN 4. Carmel HS, IN 5. William Mason HS, OH 6. The Woodlands HS, TX 7. Marcus HS, TX 8. Blue Springs HS, MO 9. Round Rock HS, TX 10. Marian Catholic HS, IL 11. Castle HS, IN 12. Union HS, OK My first 5 out: 13. Homestead HS, IN 14. Dobyns-Bennett HS, TN 15. Owasso HS, OK 16. Winston Churchill HS, TX 17. Franklin HS, TN Notes on my predictions: my rankings as of now are based on each band's current track record and history the past few years, I think that the consensus top 3 are Avon, Flomo, and Barrow; followed by a grouping of Carmel, Mason, Woodlands, and Marcus where any of those 4 could easily win given the right show. The rest of finals is pretty up in their it all depends on the show and performance. We'll definitely find out more information as we get closer to the season.

With I very stacked finals group this year I wanted to see what everybody thought of grand nationals placements.