Competitive Edge: July 16-22

Overall Rankings

Based on average of all scores earned from July 16-22

1. Santa Clara Vanguard » 90.338 » +2

2. Blue Devils » 90.133 » -1

3. Bluecoats » 89.238 » -1

4. Carolina Crown » 88.546 » +1

5. The Cavaliers » 87.087 » -1

6. Boston Crusaders » 86.217

7. The Cadets » 84.163

8. Blue Knights » 82.844 » +3

9. Blue Stars » 82.832 »

10. Phantom Regiment » 82.681 » -1

11. Mandarins » 81.338 » -1

12. Crossmen » 80.833 » +1

~~~

13. The Academy » 79.163

14. Spirit of Atlanta » 77.769

15. Madison Scouts » 76.688

16. Colts » 76.625

17. Troopers » 75.475

18. Vanguard Cadets » 72.250 » +1

19. Pacific Crest » 70.888 » -1

20. Blue Devils B » 70.375 » +2

21. Music City » 69.875 » +2

22. Oregon Crusaders » 69.812 » -1

23. Spartans » 68.750 » NEW

24. Legends » 68.650 » +3

25. Genesis » 67.325 » -5

~~~

26. Gold » 66.250 » -1

27. Guardians » 65.438 » +4

28. Jersey Surf » 65.163 » -2

29. Seattle Cascades » 64.588 » -5

30. The Battalion » 64.525 » -1

31. Golden Empire » 63.450 » +2

32. 7th Regiment » 60.900 » NEW

33. Pioneer » 59.563 » -4

34. Vessel » 58.600 » +2

35. Watchmen » 57.950 » +6

36. Impulse » 56.200 » +4

37. Raiders » 50.900 » NEW

38. Blue Devils C » 48.50 » +4

39. Incognito » 48.450 » +4

Did Not Perform » Jubal, River City Rhythm, Louisiana Stars, Southwind, Heat Wave, Colt Cadets, Shadow, Columbians

Top Caption Scores

From Saturday's DCI Southwestern Championship in San Antonio, Texas

What to Watch For

Santa Clara success stories: At events this weekend, both Santa Clara Vanguard and Vanguard Cadets held leads of more than a point over their fields of competition, placing them each in the lead of their respective classes heading into the home stretch. For Vanguard Cadets, an Open Class World Championship title would be a second in a row, but a gold medal for Santa Clara Vanguard would be the corps' first since 1999. The last time World and Open Class corps from one organization won World Championship titles in the same year, happened in 2014 when Blue Devils and Blue Devils B took home their respective trophies.

Devils and 'Coats battling: While Vanguard held a firm lead of 1.35 points in San Antonio, the race between Blue Devils and Bluecoats has been airtight as of late. After opening the week 0.725 points behind the Concord corps Tuesday in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, the Bluecoats jumped ahead in Katy, Texas on Friday by just 75 hundredths of a point. While the Blue Devils regained the lead in San Antonio by three tenths, Bluecoats' lead in general effect kept things considerably close. With marquee events coming up in Atlanta and Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the two red-hot corps will meet four times in the next seven days.

Shattering records out west: For the first time in its three-year history, The Battalion competed with all nine of California's Open Class competitors at this week's events in Bakersfield and Pleasant Hill. At the former, the Utah corps broke its all-time record score (59.100) by a mile, earning a score of 63.900. In its two events this week, The Battalion scored just over a point away from Gold, while tying the perennial Open Class finalist in the music caption on both occasions.

History in sight: Now that all 24 World Class corps have seen one another in the same venue, it's becoming a serious possibility that the Mandarins could make their first-ever appearance at the DCI World Championship Finals. In San Antonio, the Sacramento corps earned 11th place and scored just three points shy of its all-time record score, with nearly two points separating itself from the Top-12 cut-off line. Of course, nothing's set in stone, but Mandarins' impressive visual scores appear to be pushing the corps in the direction of history with three weeks to go.

Jersey Surf

Surf makes noise in Texas: For the first time since 2015 this weekend, Jersey Surf defeated Seattle Cascades, leading with a margin of just one tenth in San Antonio. The corps' solid lead in general effect made up for deficits in total visual and total music. Jersey Surf and Seattle Cascades will meet twice this week before heading into Atlanta.

Colts jump back ahead: What is currently a race between 15th and 16th place continues to be unpredictable. After losing the last two head-to-head meetings, Colts leapfrogged Madison Scouts in San Antonio by four tenths of a point. Despite trailing by eight tenths in general effect, the Dubuque, Iowa corps used a similar-sized lead in the music caption and a lead of 0.55 in visual to regain an advantage and a spot in the top 15.

Familiar rivals fighting for medals: While it's still a bit early to make any judgements regarding the Open Class World Championships, Spartans and Legends appear to be locked in a tight race for a top three position. The corps split their two meetings this week; Legends took the first by six tenths, with Spartans winning the second by eight tenths. With last year's top two — Vanguard Cadets and Blue Devils B — continuing to hold serve, the Spartans appear to be a serious challenger in Legends' push for a third-straight medal.

Tightly-contested trio: This week, an intriguingly close race materialized between Blue Knights, Blue Stars and Phantom Regiment. The three took 8th, 9th and 10th place respectively in San Antonio, but were separated by less than half a point in the process. In this grouping, the general effect caption was about as close as it could be, with Blue Stars and Phantom Regiment tied just one tenth behind Blue Knights. However, the Denver corps' lead was largely as a result of its total score in the music caption. As for Blue Stars, a strong showing in total visual kept the Wisconsin corps in ninth place and just a hair behind Blue Knights.

Beast lurking in the shadows: After falling behind the Bluecoats by nearly two points earlier this month in Orlando, Carolina Crown has made its way back within striking distance of the top three. In San Antonio, Crown finished within a point of the Canton corps for the first time since June 25, and the Blue Devils for the first time since early 2017, all while winning brass and taking second in total music. Since tying in Orlando, Crown has opened up a lead of nearly two points over the Boston Crusaders.

Boston sneaking up on the top five: The Crusaders continued to make serious noise in San Antonio. While the corps' distance from Carolina Crown has grown in recent weeks, Boston has inched closer and closer to The Cavaliers. This week, the two were separated by less than two tenths, the closest they've been since 2013. Boston Crusaders' San Antonio success came as a result of an impeccable first-place finish in color guard, as well as defeats of the Green Machine in general effect and total visual.

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