INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – River City Rhythm and Columbians both made competitive headlines earning the opportunity to advance past Thursday’s DCI World Championship Prelims.
For River City Rhythm, although the corps placed 26th at Thursday’s Prelims, a rule stipulating that an International Class ensemble cannot push a World or Open Class corps out of Semifinals competition allows the Minnesota corps to perform on Friday, as the Calgary, Alberta, Canada-based Stampede placed 24th.
With River City Rhythm’s advancement, the corps will make history with its first-ever Semifinals appearance. The debut comes as a meaningful finale to the corps’ 10th anniversary season.
“No matter what, the group was proud of this performance, and it would be really exciting to be able to perform tomorrow and be able to have another performance – one last run with everybody – and for the first time in corps history to be able to do such a thing and be a part of that history,” River City Rhythm drum major Carter Grupe said after the corps’ performance on Thursday.
Grupe also applauded River City Rhythm’s mindset since day one, as the Anoka, Minnesota corps had eyes set on pushing throughout the season to make it to its historic accomplishment.
“We just kept pushing each day and thinking, ‘If we really do this, we can make it to Friday,” he said. “We kept pushing, the job’s not finished, and now we’re here.”
Since joining DCI in 2015, River City Rhythm has landed within striking distance of the Semifinals cutoff numerous times; the corps’ highest placement at the World Championship Prelims over the years was 27th in 2024. That year, the corps was just 1.275 points away from the 25th-place threshold.
“For future years on, the mindset is just trying to stay consistent and hopefully keep staying in this place and maybe grow and get better and possibly in the future maybe medal in Open Class,” Grupe said. “Who knows where RCR could go in the future?”
For the Columbians, the Tri-Cities, Washington corps makes its return to Semifinals after placing 26th in 2024, when it narrowly missed out on moving on after finishing just 0.15 points behind The Battalion. The last time Columbians made Semifinals was in 2023 — the corps’ first trip to the DCI World Championships — when it placed 24th with a score of 74.600.
“Over half of our corps this year is rookies, and to be able to give them this experience and show them what Columbians is capable of would mean the world to me,” said Columbians drum major Colby Muchlinski. “I’m already so proud of them, but for them to be able to see that for themselves and see, ‘Wow, I made it to the Semifinals by working as hard as I did this summer,’ is something that I’m looking forward to.”
Columbians’ return to Semifinals also has a profound impact for Muchlinski as he nears the end of his age-out season. Having been with the corps when it made Semifinals in 2023 and missed out on Semifinals in 2024, he has experienced firsthand the rollercoaster the Pacific Northwest corps has been on over recent years.
“The return would be kind of closing the book for me,” Muchlinski said. “This year is my age-out year, I started in 2023 as an assistant drum major over on the side field. In my rookie year I came here and got to do Semifinals, and then in my age-out year get to close out with the same experience.”
