A handful of competitive surprises highlighted a pivotal two-day event at Northern Kentucky University this weekend, as upwards of 40 percussion and winds ensembles threw down at the WGI Mid-East Percussion/Winds Power Regional.

Here are the main takeaways from the weekend:

World Class newcomers set up well for finals push

Rhythm X won PIW by a good five points over the field.

The big surprise was the success of two groups that are in their first year competing at the World Class level; ConneXus (3rd, 85.850) and INov8 (4th, 85.525 before penalties) posted very solid numbers for late March, and both, pre-penalties, earned less than two points behind Atlanta Quest, which has made PIW finals in each of the past five seasons.

So based on that knowledge, it’s reasonable to believe both of those Independent World newbies could contend for spots among the Top 15, which would be quite the accomplishment for year one in a new class.

PSW trio tightens up in Sunday finals

Lebanon, Walled Lake Central and Centerville are pretty familiar Scholastic World opponents at this point.

The first time they met, at the mid-February Dayton regional, Lebanon beat Walled Lake by about a point, and Centerville by about seven. It seemed Lebanon would stake its claim on the class when it opened up leads of 5.3 and 7.55 in prelims, but Walled Lake Central and Centerville made a significant push in finals.

By the end of the weekend, Lebanon still held a strong lead, but both Walled Lake and Centerville erased more than two points of their respective deficits. The final scores: Lebanon (89.150), Walled Lake Central (86.050), Centerville (84.05).

Having watched all of these groups, they all look poised to compete for spots in PSW finals. Based on the scores, though, Lebanon looks particularly ready to contend for a top position in World Class.

Inertia makes statement at Open Class level

Now in its first year of Independent Open competition, Inertia Independent Winds entered the weekend having yet to compete with another Open Class ensemble. Its first opponent? Chromium Winds, last year’s WIO silver-medalist.

Inertia posted a pretty impressive number early on this season in its only WGI event, so there was a reason to believe the group would hold its own up against Chromium.

Inertia took it a step further and won. The ensemble swept all captions and defeated Chromium by 2.15 points. 

Regardless of how this race develops into World Championships, it’s clear Inertia has taken a major step forward this season—an encouraging sign for one of the most experienced Winds groups in WGI.