Hillcrest High won its seventh consecutive national Shakespeare Sweepstakes title at the 49th annual competition in Cedar City.

The Oct. 1-3 event drew nearly 3,000 students from six states. Brighton High School finished second and Corner Canyon High School third in the Oxford division Sweepstakes, giving Canyons School District a clean sweep of all three top spots, according to the district. The district describes the Cedar City contest as the largest scholastic Shakespeare competition in North America.

Jordan High and Alta High, both Sandy schools, also earned honors across theater, music and technical categories.

In Oxford division individual events, Hillcrest's Arnav Nair won the Monologue category and took home the $500 Barbara Barrett Award, a scholarship for competitors who are juniors or younger. Corner Canyon's Elle Stotts finished second in Monologues. Hillcrest's Ginger Witkamp, Nico Hodgson and Sebastian Smith won first place in Duo-Trio Scenes. Brighton's Hyrum Lafeen and Winter Chafetz placed third.

CSD also swept the Oxford Ensemble category: Hillcrest first, Brighton second, Corner Canyon third.

Corner Canyon dominated the music large-school division, winning the first-place Sweepstakes trophy. The Charger choirs took first in Troubadour, second in Canzonetta and Madrigal, and third in Minstrel. Jordan placed third in the music Sweepstakes and earned third-place finishes in Madrigals and Troubadour. Jordan's choir was selected to perform in the showcase.

In the Tech Olympics, CSD students swept the individual awards. Hillcrest's Eli Skinner won Lighting, Alta's Lena Seely won Props and Corner Canyon's Isaac Nichols won Rigging. Hillcrest's tech crew earned the "Gold Drill" award for the fastest time, and Hillcrest's Rowan Willis won the Tech Portfolio category.

More than 300 teachers and coaches across the competing schools helped prepare students for the three-day event.

"Our goal is ensuring every student is ready for what comes next," Tom Sherwood, CSD's director of high schools, said in a late-2025 announcement about Hillcrest's programs. "Hillcrest's programs are a great example of how we're creating meaningful opportunities for students with a wide range of interests and ambitions."

Hillcrest's theater program has received the Best of State Award for two consecutive years, according to a district board presentation in February. The school draws 268 out-of-district students and ranks No. 12 in the Salt Lake metro area in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools rankings.

Jordan High's award-winning Troubadour performance will be featured at the district's 17th annual Apex Awards ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, at Mount Jordan Middle School, 9351 Mountaineer Lane.