Milestones from the 2025 WGI Winds Championships
Our 2025 Milestones series wraps up with a recap of the accomplishments made at Winds World Championships
Our 2025 Milestones series and a week of recapping the WGI World Championships comes to a close today as we look back at Winds in part three. The two day event was a great culmination of the entire season as Winds finals were the final time that the historic UD Arena will play host to WGI performances until April 2026.
In case you missed part one or two which recapped guard and percussion, be sure to check those out at the links below.
In its 10th anniversary of existence, the Winds division had a successful season and World Championships. A total of 84 groups competed throughout the season and combined for 271 scored performances, a noticeable increase from the 69 groups and 229 performances that were part of the 2024 season. 34 groups attended World Championships, and for the first time ever, a semifinals round was added for the Scholastic A and Independent A classes. It was historically significant season too as, for the first time in any division in WGI history, there were four repeat class champions (more on that below).
You know the drill by now - let’s take a look back at the incredible accomplishments made by the finalists, medalists, and champions this year.
Class Champions & Medalists
Independent World:
1st place: STRYKE Wynds (FL) - fourth championship and ninth medal in all classes (IW champions in 2024 and 2023; IO champions in 2016)
2nd place: Vaquero Winds (TX) - fifth medal in Independent World (IW champions in 2022)
3rd place: Horizon Winds (FL) - sixth medal in all classes
Scholastic World:
1st place: Avon HS (IN) - sixth championship in Scholastic World (champions in 2024, 2023, 2022, 2017, 2016)
2nd place: Westfield HS (IN) - third medal in all classes (SO champions in 2023)
3rd place: Greenfield Central HS (IN) - fifth medal in all classes
Independent Open:
1st place: Valhalla Winds (OH) - second championship and third medal in Independent Open (IO champions in 2024)
2nd place: River City Rhythm (MN) - first medal in all classes (2025 was the first year the group attended World Championships)
3rd place: Elevate Winds (IN) - first medal in all classes
Scholastic Open:
1st place (tie): Daviess County HS (KY) - second championship and fifth medal in all classes (IA champions in 2019)
1st place (tie): Robert Vela HS (TX) - first championship and medal in all classes
3rd place: Bob Jones HS (AL) - second medal in all classes (SA champions in 2023)
Independent A:
1st place: Ethereal Winds (TX) - second championship and third medal in Independent A (IA champions in 2024)
2nd place: Obsidian Winds (TN) - first medal in all classes
3rd place: LSM West (MI) - first medal in all classes (2025 was LSM West’s first season of competition; they are affiliated with LSM Winds in IW)
Scholastic A:
1st place: Edinburg HS (TX) - first medal in all classes (2025 was the first year the group attended World Championships)
2nd place: Damien HS (CA) - first medal in all classes (2025 was the first year the group attended World Championships)
3rd place: Mt. Juliet HS (TN) - third medal in all classes
First time finalists in any class:
WSA - Edinburg HS (TX)
WSA - Damien HS (CA)
WSA - Warren Central HS (IN)
WIA - Obsidian Winds (TN)
WIA - LSM West (MI)
WIA - Cyclone Winds (MI)
WIA - Forest Hills (OH)
WSO - Hernando HS (MS)
WSO - North Forney HS (TX)
WSO - Lake Orion HS (MI)
WIO - River City Rhythm (MN)
WIO - Convergence Indoor Winds (AZ)
First time finalists in respective classes:
WSO - Bob Jones HS (AL)
WSO - Valley Christian HS (CA)
WSO - Corinth Holders (NC)
WIO - Elevate Winds (IN)
Miscellaneous facts:
Winds featured repeat champions in four classes this season - Stryke Winds (FL), Avon HS (IN), Valhalla Winds (OH), and Ethereal Winds (TX) all won titles in their respective classes after doing so in 2024. This marks the first time in WGI guard, percussion, or winds history that there were four repeat champions in a single season.
Stryke Wynds and Avon HS each won their third and fourth consecutive titles in Independent and Scholastic World, respectively. They join Rhythm X Winds (IN) as the only ensembles to win three or more consecutive championships in the history of WGI Winds.
With their final score 97.275, Stryke Wynds became only the fourth group ever to score higher than a 97 in Independent World. Other groups to achieve this feat are Stryke Wynds in 2024, Rhythm X Winds in 2018, and Aimachi (Japan) in 2016.
Indiana became the first state to have three groups claim all three medal spots in a single class with Avon HS, Westfield HS, and Greenfield-Central HS finishing in the top three spots in Scholastic World this year.
Valhalla Winds won their second straight championship in Independent Open and the ninth title all time by groups from Ohio. In the nine year history of WGI Winds, groups from Ohio have won at least one class in seven seasons (2023 and 2016 were the only years that did not have a champion from the state).
By taking home the silver medal in Independent Open, River City Rhythm (MN) became the first winds group from Minnesota to medal in any class.
Daviess County HS (KY) tied for first in Scholastic Open while winning their second ever championship. They remain as the only group from Kentucky to ever win a championship in Winds.
Ethereal Winds (TX) won their second straight championship in Independent A and with their finals score of 92.363, set a new record high score for the class. The previous record was 92.3 set by Daviess County HS in 2019.
Robert Vela HS (TX) tied for the Scholastic Open championship while Edinburg HS (TX) won Scholastic A in their first ever year of competition at World Championships. The two titles were the first by a Texas school in a Scholastic class since Azle HS won Scholastic Open in 2018. Edinburg’s championship was the first ever title in Scholastic A by a group from the state.
The tie between Daviess County HS and Robert Vela HS for Scholastic Open was the first ever first place tie in any class at Winds World Championships.
And with that, the Milestones series has come to an end. Thanks for following along! Hopefully this was a fun and insightful look as we officially close the book on a wonderful 2025 season.