“This year’s Steel Valley Regional 15 was the largest show we’ve ever had, with over 60 cars inside the arena. Forty-eight cars competed in the SQ Showdown, judged by six judges using a 200-point score sheet. Scores were averaged and ranked one through 48.”
“Every participant received an award, prizes, and trophies. As part of the weekend, we included every major sound quality organization in the United States: EMMA, IASCA, MECA, MASQ, and ECA, each running its own contest. Competitors could choose to compete à la carte, and trophies were awarded within each organization,” said Larry Chijner, longtime organizer of the event.
“Steel Valley Regionals was a huge success this year. Arc Audio’s team had outstanding results across the board, proving once again that every line of Arc Audio product is competition-ready — quality that’s stress-tested on the lanes so consumers get the best possible results on the streets. SVR brings together a head-to-head battle between the best of the best in car audio,” said Brian Mitchell of Arc Audio.
“As a manufacturer, the SVR show is very important to us at Zapco and ESB Audio,” states Chris Bennett. “It generally has the highest attendance of Team Zapco/ESB Audio members. This year there were a total of 11 vehicles that had Zapco and/or ESB Audio equipment in them. We encouraged attendees to get demos from a few competitors using our ESB 9000 Series speakers, and it was incredible. I think of ESB Audio as ‘the best lineup of speakers you’ve never heard of,’ and supporting shows like SVR will hopefully help us continue to grow the ESB brand here in North America. We also recognize and appreciate the help of the competitors who choose to use a Zapco or ESB product in this level of SQ competition. With dozens and dozens of different brands available, it’s important to be there for our Team Zapco/ESB members. I’m already looking forward to next year, as during the show we added two more new team members for Zapco and ESB Audio.”
“This year’s show drew cars from California, Florida, and all over the country. The event is held at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, West Virginia, an indoor, air conditioned venue. Friday was set up, tweak, and tune day, with competition running Saturday and Sunday. Over 500 score sheets were tallied, and everything, including the awards presentation in the arena’s club room, wrapped up by 6 PM Sunday.”
“A special thank you to all the sponsors who supported the show, and to all the judges and competitors who came out this year. Steel Valley Regional 16 is planned for the end of July 2027 at the same venue. More info will be coming soon, as putting on this show takes a full year of planning,” stated Larry Chijner.
Tentative date for Steel Valley regional 16 next year is July 23-24th and 25th.
See results below:
| Steel Valley Regional XV Top 48 6 Judge Average | ||||
| 1 | Natan Budiono | 173.92 | ||
| 2 | Brian Gill | 173.50 | ||
| 3 | Brian Mitchell | 172.33 | ||
| 4 | Mark Bruno | 171.17 | ||
| 5 | Larry Ng | 170.17 | ||
| 6 | Miguel Rios | 170.00 | ||
| 7 | Stephen Weigner | 168.50 | ||
| 8 | Tim Smith | 165.92 | Tonality: | 69.50 |
| 9 | Carson Steigerwalt | 165.92 | Tonality: | 69.00 |
| 10 | Matthew Kim | 163.08 | ||
| 11 | Scott Smith | 162.75 | ||
| 12 | Luke Ouellet | 162.00 | ||
| 13 | Angie Landis | 161.17 | ||
| 14 | Chris Hodge | 158.67 | ||
| 15 | Eric Ekern | 158.25 | ||
| 16 | Teresa Bruno | 158.00 | ||
| 17 | Cory Purcell | 157.92 | ||
| 18 | Brayden Cooper | 157.75 | ||
| 19 | Lori Wallace | 156.92 | ||
| 20 | Michael Buononato | 156.75 | ||
| 21 | Chris Pearce | 156.17 | ||
| 22 | Adam Schlepphorst | 156.08 | ||
| 23 | Stephen Kludy | 155.83 | Tonality: | 65.50 |
| 24 | Ayeka Wallace | 155.83 | Tonality: | 64.33 |
| 25 | Kevin Keen | 155.67 | ||
| 26 | Ron Baker | 153.58 | ||
| 27 | Petros Floros | 151.75 | ||
| 28 | Chris Lewis | 150.83 | ||
| 29 | Michael Bishop | 150.33 | Tonality: | 63.50 |
| 30 | Charles Simmons | 150.33 | Tonality: | 60.67 |
| 31 | David Wright | 148.08 | ||
| 32 | John Smith | 146.50 | ||
| 33 | Allan Kearse | 145.67 | ||
| 34 | Mike Nicholls | 145.17 | ||
| 35 | Motouse Muhammad | 142.67 | ||
| 36 | Brian Sindt | 142.17 | ||
| 37 | Kelly Laborde | 138.58 | Tonality: | 60.33 |
| 38 | Bryan Huston 2 | 138.42 | Tonality: | 57.67 |
| 39 | Adam Wilczak | 138.42 | ||
| 40 | Bryan Huston 2 | 138.42 | ||
| 40 | Anthony Horton | 138.08 | ||
| 41 | Bryan Huston 1 | 134.33 | ||
| 42 | Dave Morris | 133.75 | ||
| 43 | Marcus Derr | 127.08 | ||
| 44 | Scott Livengood | 125.08 | ||
| 45 | Alan Works | 121.17 | ||
| 46 | Jeffrey Topp | 121.08 | ||
| 47 | Tyler Ciulla | 120.42 | ||
| 48 | Joseph Dumas | 119.67 | ||
Congrats Uncle Larry!