The Academy opened up a significant spread over their nearest competitors in Division II Prelims, and Impulse jumped to the top in Division III at the opening of the DCI World Championships presented by A.J.Wright in Madison, Wis., today.

The Academy, performing at the Division II & III Prelims
Electrifying the audience with its blazing visuals and fiery Mexican music, The Academy scored 96.375 to Spartans' 94.175 to head into Division II Semifinals undefeated. This after the top four corps scored between 91.100 and 91.700 at last weekend's Great Lakes Open in Michigan City, Ind. The Academy blew out Spartans by 1.3 in general effect, which was the bulk of their lead. Spartans took first in visual by .3, topping the Academy's guard by .7. East Coast Jazz (3rd-92.450) barely edged Oregon Crusaders (4th-92.425) with East Coast Jazz, Vanguard Cadets and the Academy tying for high percussion. Vanguard Cadets (5th-89.950) just topped their Bay Area rivals Blue Devils B (6th-89.350), largely on a .8 spread in Percussion. Jersey Surf (7th-86.875) topped Memphis Sound (8th-85.125), with Teal Sound (9th-81.250) capturing the last spot in Semifinals. Jubal (10th-80.250) and Colt Cadets (11th-66.375) will not be advancing on to Semifinals. In Division III, Impulse jumped over Revolution with an 83.950 to the Texas corps' 83.250 by winning general effect, visual and music, though Revolution won music general effect by .5. Raiders (3rd-80.575) stayed in the top three on the basis of third place finishes in general effect and visual. Yamato (4th-78.575) stayed fairly competitive with Raiders except in the color guard caption, where a 10th place finish opened up some vulnerability. Fever (5th-77.800) placed first in color guard, followed by Dutch Boy (6th-75.225) and Spokane Thunder (7th-74.425). The final two spots in Division III Semifinals went to Capital Sound (8th-71.575) and Citations (9th-69.450). Corps not advancing to Semifinals include H.Y.P.E. (10th-69.000), Vision Elite (11th-64.775), Spirit of Newark/New Jersey (12th-64.200), Racine Scouts (13th-59.475), Targets (14th-56.775), 7th Regiment (15th-55.325), St. John's (16th-51.975) and Blue Saints (17th-50.400). Division III Semifinals will be held Thursday at 10 a.m., followed by the Division I Quarterfinals at 2:30 p.m.; Division II Semifinals will be held Friday morning at 11 a.m., followed by Division I Semifinals at 4:30 p.m. All shows are at Camp Randall Stadium. Division II & III Finals will be held Saturday morning starting at 11 a.m. If you're coming to the Division I events, show up a little early and experience some serious thrills from these Division II & III corps.