Competitive Edge: July 23-29

Overall Rankings

Based on average of all scores earned from July 23-29

Last week's rankings and storylines

1. Santa Clara Vanguard » 93.200

2. Blue Devils » 92.500

3. Bluecoats » 91.955

4. Carolina Crown » 90.980

5. Boston Crusaders » 89.675 » +1

6. The Cavaliers » 89.255 » -1

7. The Cadets » 86.518

8. Blue Knights » 85.867

9. Blue Stars » 85.200

10. Mandarins » 84.425 » +1

11. Phantom Regiment » 84.367 » -1

12. Crossmen » 82.691

~~~

13. Spirit of Atlanta » 82.478 » +1

14. The Academy » 81.475 » -1

15. Colts » 80.156 » +1

16. Madison Scouts » 79.763 » -1

17. Troopers » 78.816

18. Pacific Crest » 75.861 » +1

19. Blue Devils B » 74.950 » +1

20. Vanguard Cadets » 74.633 » -2

21. Music City » 72.956

22. Spartans » 71.650 » +1

23. Oregon Crusaders » 71.550 » -1

24. Genesis » 70.758 » +1

25. Legends » 70.500 » -1

~~~

26. Gold » 69.563

27. Guardians » 67.325

28. Jersey Surf » 67.113

29. Seattle Cascades » 67.040

30. The Battalion » 66.500

31. Louisiana Stars » 65.500 » NEW

32. 7th Regiment » 64.783

33. Southwind » 62.300 » NEW

34. Pioneer » 61.844 » -1

35. River City Rhythm » 61.400 » NEW

36. Watchmen » 59.350 » -1

37. Colt Cadets » 58.900 » NEW

38. Impulse » 58.150 » -2

39. Raiders » 57.850 » -2

Did Not Perform » Golden Empire, Heat Wave, Shadow, Jubal

Seasons Completed » Blue Devils C, Columbians, Incognito, Vessel

Top Caption Scores

From Saturday's DCI Southeastern Championship in Atlanta, Georgia

What to Watch For

Blue Stars building momentum: After having recently scored within 0.187 points of the Blue Knights — a corps they hadn't beaten head-to-head since 2016 — the Blue Stars moved into the top eight Saturday night in Atlanta by just over three tenths of a point. The Wisconsin corps' visual scores have been increasingly impressive in recent weeks; its sixth-place finish in color guard certainly sticks out most in the scoring recap from Atlanta. The Blue Stars have been a top-eight finisher just three times — 2008, 2009 and 2010 — since rejoining the World Class ranks in 2006.

Boston breaks through: For two full weeks, Boston Crusaders had been nipping at the heels of The Cavaliers. In four recent meetings, starting with the July 15 regional event in St. Louis and leading up to past weekend's event in Atlanta, Boston had been anywhere between one and five tenths behind the Rosemont, Illinois corps. The Crusaders pulled off the upset by a hair-thin margin of just five hundredths in Atlanta, before opening their newfound lead to over a point Sunday in Winston-Salem.

Mandarins taking center stage: While the Mandarins may be seated above Phantom Regiment in terms of their average score, the Sacramento corps has yet to defeat Regiment head to head. However, Mandarins — which had never been within less than two points of the Rockford corps prior to this season — pulled within two tenths Thursday in Birmingham, and one tenth in Atlanta. At Saturday's event, Mandarins led by a tenth in general effect and 0.475 in total visual, but Phantom Regiment's strong music scores kept it in the Top 10. Color guard has also been a telling caption between these two; Mandarins' guard earned ninth place in Atlanta, while the Rockford corps' took 15th.

Devils gaining breathing room: After a stretch of three consecutive meetings that saw the Blue Devils lead the Bluecoats by three tenths or less, the Concord corps used this weekend to open up a commanding lead. Saturday in Atlanta, the Devils led the Canton corps by just under half a point, but Sunday in Winston-Salem, that advantage ballooned to 1.55. The Blue Devils also made up some ground on Santa Clara Vanguard this weekend, with an average of half a point separating the two familiar rivals in Saturday and Sunday's events.

Potential Top 12 shake-up: Spirit of Atlanta made major noise this week, rising to within 0.601 of the 12th-place Crossmen at its hometown regional event. Just a week prior, the Atlanta corps had been 2.663 off its opponent from San Antonio, firmly situated in 14th place behind The Academy. Spirit's distance behind Crossmen this weekend also marks the closest the two have been since 2013, which is the last time Spirit defeated the San Antonio corps, and the last time it appeared in the DCI World Championship Finals. In Atlanta, Spirit featured impressive 11th-place finishes in brass, percussion and, subsequently, total music, while also scoring just three tenths behind Crossmen in general effect.

Colts

Colts bounce back: As the season speeds toward the finish line, the race between the Colts and Madison Scouts for a spot in the Top 15 continues to be one of the most intriguing. This week, the Colts regained some momentum in their race with the Madison corps, picking up head-to-head wins in San Antonio, Dothan and Atlanta. Saturday at the Southeastern Championship, Colts' lead went back above a point for just the second time this season. Interestingly, in 11 meetings this season, each time one of these two corps has led by more than a point, its lead has completely evaporated within the next two head-to-head events.

Spartans taking charge: Ater trading close victories with Legends over the course of last week, the Spartans have gained a solid amount of breathing room on the quest for a spot in the Open Class top three. The Nashua, New Hampshire corps took home a commanding 1.9-point win in Sheffield, Pennsylvania on Friday, before seeing that lead drop slightly to 1.45 at Sunday's event in White Lake, Michigan. Spartans' strengths to this point have been in the visual caption — in which the corps led Legends by a full point in Sheffield — and general effect.

Not going down without a fight: In the search for its fourth-consecutive medalist finish, Carolina Crown made significant strides this weekend. Sunday in Winston-Salem, Crown went all the way from 1.25 points off the top three to having just 0.075 separate itself from the third-place Bluecoats. The Fort Mill corps made a major jump in general effect, tying with the Bluecoats in that caption, while also winning the brass caption.

Cascades make waves: Following two more events this week, Jersey Surf and Seattle Cascades have now split four head-to-head meetings to date this season. Jersey Surf won the first two by 0.1 and 0.15, starting with last weekend's event in San Antonio. Since then, Friday in Dothan, the Casacdes gained a slim lead, before blowing their advantage open to 1.525 in Atlanta. At Saturday's event, the Seattle corps made up for a tie in total visual with strong showings in total music and general effect.

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