ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania — The first night of competition at the DCI Eastern Classic — a two-night event featuring 21 World Class corps at iconic J. Birney Crum Stadium — was covered in competitive intrigue.
With Bluecoats standing tall atop the leaderboard, several attention-grabbing competitive races evolved Friday night, with the DCI World Championships looming less than a week away.
1. Bluecoats » 96.475
2. Blue Devils » 94.650
3. Phantom Regiment » 93.225
While Bluecoats’ Friday night margin of victory was largely predicated on the corps’ standout scores in General Effect, the defending World Champions managed to earn top marks in every caption. Bluecoats’ 96.475 serves as the second-highest score ever recorded in Allentown, just 0.35 shy of the all-time record, 2014 Blue Devils’ 96.825.
Less than two points behind, Blue Devils closed in on 95 points, and fended off Phantom Regiment by nearly a point and a half for second place.
Vying for its second-consecutive finish amongst DCI’s top five, Phantom Regiment earned third place, scoring just three tenths of a point behind the Blue Devils in the General Effect caption.
4. Blue Stars » 88.900
5. Troopers » 88.625
6. Blue Knights » 87.225
7. Colts » 86.700
At three consecutive head-to-head performances in the span of eight days leading into Friday’s Allentown event, Blue Stars and Troopers were separated by less than a point, with all three closely-contested meetings favoring Blue Stars.
Friday night, the Wisconsin corps maintained its edge, thanks to noteworthy visual scores. Troopers, though, closed the gap to just 0.275 points, as a result of strong outputs in the music captions.
Fresh off of a tie between Blue Knights and Colts Wednesday night in Glassboro, New Jersey, the Denver corps broke the deadlock by a tally of 0.525 points Friday night. Ultimately, while Colts ranked ahead in the music captions, Blue Knights’ standout visual scores made the difference.
As the corps’ quest for a return trip to the DCI World Championship Finals continues, Blue Knights also made up some ground against Troopers, closing what was a 2.25-point gap Wednesday in Newark, Delaware, to 1.4 points in Allentown, while outscoring the Wyoming corps in Total Visual by just over three tenths of a point.
8. Pacific Crest » 83.850
9. Music City » 81.300
10. Spartans » 79.400
11. Seattle Cascades » 76.400
It’s been a strong week for Music City, as the Nashville corps recently moved its way up the competitive leaderboard at a mid-week event, scoring ahead of Crossmen for the first time this season. Friday night, Music City earned a score of 81.300 — an improvement of more than a point from its 2024 Allentown tally.
Spartans’ first time as a World Class competitor in Allentown — the defending Open Class champions have spent 2025 competing in a unique hybrid capacity — saw the corps rank 10th overall and finish ninth in color guard. Seattle Cascades rounded out Friday’s competitive lineup, scoring 76.400, a 1.3 point improvement from its score three days ago in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The next group of World Class corps will hit the field at J. Birney Crum Stadium on Saturday, August 2, stepping off at 7 p.m. ET. Tickets are still available and the event can also be streamed live via FloMarching.
