Tensions were high, and scores even higher this weekend in Hattiesburg, MS for the WGI South Power Regional. States like Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, and others sent some of their best groups to the University of Southern Mississippi to see who might come out on top.

Here are some of the highlights:

Check out the live blog to get a group-by-group recap.

See the full results from the WGI South Power Regional.

Scholastic

That Scholastic A title went to E.D. White HS, with a woodland-themed production earning them a finals score of 90.6, up 2.6 points from their prelims placement. Southhaven HS took home the silver with a finals score of 87.275. They got the crowd on their feet cheering after one moment toward the end of their show during which a member takes an extended vocal solo, accompanied by fierce and furious playing from the battery and front ensemble.

Open class was won by Escambia HS of Pensacola, FL, whose show was full of heartfelt moments revolving around a family’s struggle with the sickness and death of their mother. Escambia walked away from finals at the University of Southern Mississippi with a score of 85.513.

Second went to Pace HS with their show about the disconnect between humans and nature. The show, with tunes from Kanye West and composer John Mackey, earned Pace a score of 87.55 and a second place finish in prelims. Their prelims impressed the judges so much, they decided to bump them up into open class where they finished with a finals score of 83 and a silver medal. Way to go Pace!

Our first look at Petal HS in PSW revealed yet another strong year for the ensemble. The group earned an 85.15 in finals competition over the weekend—a score that tops their WGI World Championship PSW finals score from 2018, which left them in 13th overall.

Independent

Elite A won A Class finals with a 78.6, just narrowly beating Winfield Independent by about 0.3. Elite A’s show was about a young girl trying to avoid the monsters that live underneath her bed and included many creepy, nightmare-inducing melodies, including the main theme from the hit Netflix show “Stranger Things.”

With only two groups competing in Open class, the groups were being directly compared to one another. The first round went to Elite Independent, whose show included a selection from the iconic Pink Floyd song “Another Brick In The Wall (Pt 2)," with a prelims score of 80.9. 

However, Infinity 2 came out on top at finals, finishing with a score of 84.675 and their show about exploring the unknown dangers of Mt. Everest.

The Independent World groups held nothing back with this weekend marking a huge turning point in the season as spectators and judges start to expect World Championship-level quality.

STRYKE Percussion took home the bronze with a finals score of 84.113. 

Infinity earned second with their show about “The Greatest Showman." The production was a definite fan favorite and truly took audiences to the circus, complete with jugglers, stilt walkers, and other amazing things that wowed the crowd—they pushed to a score of 86.175 in finals. 

Music City Mystique walked away with the Power Regional gold for their show “Medium” with a 90.075, up 0.6 points from their prelims run and putting them in the very exclusive over-90 club from weekend #1 of Power Regionals.