WHS students advance to state speech competition
WORTHINGTON — Three members of the Worthington Trojan Speech Team are polishing their shoes and their speeches this week in preparation for the State Speech Tournament
WORTHINGTON — Three members of the Worthington Trojan Speech Team are polishing their shoes and their speeches this week in preparation for the State Speech Tournament.
Senior Sameera Nalla will compete in Original Oratory, junior Isaac Wass will compete in Storytelling and junior Jeremy Clark will compete in Extemporaneous Speaking at the Section A State Speech Tournament Saturday in St. Peter.
Nalla’s original speech, titled “The Fairly Stupid System,” will address education reform to adjust to global standards.
“The introduction and transitions are from ‘The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales.’ The broken fairy tales tie in with what I talk about in the broken education system,” she explained.
Nalla also competed at state last year, finishing one place short of the final round.
“I do feel less nervous than last year,” she said, adding she enjoys watching competitors from other schools.
Wass competes in Storytelling, in which competitors draw three stories from a large collection and choose which to tell. His favorite is “The Lucky Table,” a story about two brothers who trade the family cow for a lucky table at the market.
It’s his first time at state competition and he’s excited.
“I can have crazy voices and expansive gestures and fly all over the room, but I can’t change the story and there are time limits,” he said of his category.
Clark said he feels ready for competition in Extemporaneous Speaking, a category that requires students to draw a question about domestic or foreign affairs and use research to prepare an impromptu speech on the subject.
“I feel comfortable in the position that I’m in,” he said.
“They have to get in the mindset to compete,” commented coach Linda Neugebauer. Speech gives students an important life skill, she said, especially that of being able to perform under pressure.
This year’s team comprised 24 students, 14 of whom participated in sectional competition.
“We’ve had a very good year. We have a young team; we’re only losing five seniors, but there’s a whole lot of talent in the ninth-, 10th- and 11th-graders and they’ve worked so hard.”
Other finalists in sectional competition Saturday in Marshall were Kayli Kuhl, sixth place in Serious Drama; Annie Zaske, sixth place in Humorous Expression; Erin Pomranke, sixth place in Serious Prose; and Jackie Martin, fifth place in Storytelling.
Tags: speech team, state speech tournament, news, worthington, trojans, whs
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