SAN ANTONIO – As the 2026 DCI Summer Tour crosses its halfway mark, the Alamodome has provided the first snapshot of what August’s Top 12 World Championship Finals lineup might look like.
While the top tier of the activity may feel secure in their trajectory toward Finals night at Lucas Oil Stadium, a fluid competitive race is brewing at the edge of the cutoff. The DCI Southwestern Championship presented by Fred J. Miller has laid the baseline for a thrilling home stretch, with a mere 0.525 points separating three corps aiming to lock themselves into a coveted finalist position in Indianapolis.
Holding the 12th spot on July 18 in San Antonio were the Madison Scouts (80.425). The two-time World Champion corps was bolstered by a standout performance in the General Effect caption, where they managed to outscore the 11th-place Troopers by 0.325 points.
“We have an incredible team of staff, writers, designers, all supporting us so much,” Madison Scouts drum major Juliana Thint said. “We’re here for the legacy, we’re here to build on that legacy and to bring the Madison Scout’s name back home.”
It’s a pursuit driven by recent history. After earning a finalist spot in 2024 for the first time since 2017, the Scouts experienced a setback in 2025, falling to 14th place behind Spirit of Atlanta and finishing nearly three points outside the bubble. Despite that hurdle, the group has utmost confidence in their 2026 production, “MadiSpin.”
“(Our show) is about taking what you know and you love about the Madison Scouts and giving it a reinvention while also staying true to the old, loud, proud, and pleasing the crowd motto,” Thint said. “We’re gonna show up and show the world that we are the Madison Scouts and we are here to stay.”
Surging from behind in San Antonio was Southern California’s Pacific Crest, leaving Alamo City well within striking distance at 80.000, just 0.425 points behind the Madison Scouts. Since entering DCI’s World Class division in 2003, Pacific Crest has never qualified for the World Championship Finals. Ironically, their highest finish to date — 13th at the 2024 Semifinals — came just behind the Madison Scouts in 12th, the exact same position both groups are wrestling over now.
With one of the greatest opportunities in organizational history well within grasp, Pacific Crest is approaching the final weeks of the summer one rehearsal block at a time.
“It would mean the world; (earning a finalist spot) has never been done by Pacific Crest and every year we’re fighting to get closer and closer,” drum major Julia Framan said. “We’re here for the day-by-day, every little thing, every minor adjustment we can do to make the process better and the show stronger.”
Pacific Crest backed up their aspirations with impressive numbers on Saturday, finishing 11th in overall Visual and 12th in General Effect. Riding that visual momentum could be the ultimate difference-maker come August.
But they can’t afford to only look forward. Spirit of Atlanta, who finished 13th in 2025, landed in 14th place on Saturday with a 79.900 — sitting a tiny tenth of a point behind Pacific Crest. A Top 12 Finals appearance for the first time since 2013 would be a historic milestone for the Georgia corps, particularly as they celebrate the organization’s 50th anniversary this summer.
“We’ve been dying to be in Finals, to get that final spot,” Spirit of Atlanta drum major Chris Dowis said. “If anyone watches our rehearsals, you can see it. We have a fire right behind us. We’re ready for it.”
While Spirit fell just short of breaking the 80-point barrier for the first time this season in San Antonio, the corps made major waves on the judges’ sheets, including a 13th-place finish overall in Music and an eye-catching 10th-place finish in General Effect 1.
The battle for the final Saturday night ticket will ultimately come to a head in Indianapolis, but the corps will continue to duke it out across Texas in the meantime. The Madison Scouts and Pacific Crest now head toward Bedford for DCI Dallas on July 19, while Spirit of Atlanta diverges to DCI McKinney on July 20.
