The Chesterton High
School Speech team finished in second place at the Culver Academies Speech
Invitational this past weekend. Six schools with nearly 200 entries competed
in the varsity tournament. CHS had six tournament champions. Despite having
an entry half the size of Culver’s winning team, Chesterton’s performance
was admirable.
Leading the varsity
division and winning all three of her events was junior Lily Roberts.
Roberts was tournament champion in prose reading, programmed oral
interpretation, as well as first place in memorized duo with partner Kaitlyn
Papka. Papka, a junior, also placed fourth in programmed oral
interpretation.
Other champions
included Indigo Loving in original oratory, Jenna Aguilar in informative
speaking and Mark Jewison in United States extemporaneous speaking.
Six other students
contributed to CHS’s team total by placing second. The teams runner ups
included junior Anna Sanders in original oratory, sophomore Cholee Ross in
poetry interpretation, senior Emily Krygoske in broadcasting, Hamza Sahli in
international extemporaneous speaking, sophomore Miranda Miller in prose
reading, and sophomore Dylan Leavitt in both humorous interpretation and
programmed oral interpretation.
Another fantastic
outcome from the weekend was that Chesterton placed three speakers in
impromptu. Leading the varsity group was senior Mark Jewison, placing third.
He was followed by sophomore Emma Ekblaw in fifth, and in sixth was junior
Mattea Sklut. Sklut also placed well in United States extemporaneous
speaking by finishing third, followed by sophomore Melina Veltri in fourth.
Natalie Nunez also finished third in the individual event of poetry
interpretation as well as placing third, with her partner Miranda Miller, in
memorized duo. Other third place finishes include seniors Emily Krygoske in
original oratory and Peyton Day in international extemporaneous speaking.
Then the teams
broadcasters, senior Jenna Aguilar and junior Mckenna Middendorf, finished
third and fifth respectively. Middendorf was also a finalist in prose
interpretation, along with junior Anna Sanders, who placed fifth and eight
respectively.
Other CHS speakers
to place well included juniors Allison Soblotne and John Petro. Soblotne was
fifth in informative speaking and Petro was seventh in discussion.
Ê“We were ecstatic
to have every single one of our 30 entries finish in the top eight. Culver
may have won the day by 12 points, but as a host school they didn’t have to
limit their team’s entry. The results from this weekend reassured our
desired postseason dynamic. Every team will be limited to their best 40
entries. No one, not even us, can hide behind an unlimited team size. It is
our best 40 entries against their best 40 entries, and that type of head to
head competition usually brings out the best in our team," said head coach
Eric Schaefer.
Chesterton placed
second, behind Culver Academies. Coaches Chris Lowery, Tim Young, and Karly
Carden would like to thank the parents and community members who volunteered
to judge the tournament.