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April 13, 2015
Contact: Chris Franson or Ellen Rajkowski / MSHSL
ATTENTION: EDUCATION AND / OR NEWS EDITORS
(SPORTS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: PLEASE FORWARD TO APPROPRIATE STAFF)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
State Speech Tournament
Nine 2014 champions qualified to seek more gold
Eight 2014 state speech champions return to defend their titles in the same category,
while one other returning champion will seek gold in a new category at the 2015 State Speech
Tournament. This year’s event will be held at Lakeville North High School on Friday and
Saturday, April 17 and 18. Class A competition will be conducted on Friday and Class AA
competition will follow on Saturday.
The material chosen by competitors ranges from the classics — I’ve Been to the
Mountaintop by Martin Luther King, Jr. in Class AA Great Speeches — to the contemporary —
Defying Gravity by Jane Anderson in Class A Serious Interpretation of Drama. The material
written by the competitors themselves always evokes interest, often in titles alone, such as Adam
Schwartz’s The Catholic School Atheist in Class A Creative Expression, or Cailee VanSickle’s
Confessions of a Diet-Cokeaholic in Class AA Original Oratory.
The tournament features the top three qualifiers from each of eight Class A sections and
from each of eight Class AA sections in 13 different speech categories. The 2015 tournament
qualifiers represent 168 high school teams — 99 Class A teams and 69 Class AA teams. Students
from 316 Minnesota high schools participated in speech during the current school year on 186
Class A teams and 114 Class AA teams.
The categories are: 1) Serious Interpretation of Prose; 2) Serious Interpretation of Drama;
3) Serious Interpretation of Poetry; 4) Humorous Interpretation; 5) Storytelling; 6)
Extemporaneous Reading; 7) Creative Expression; 8) Original Oratory; 9) Great Speeches; 10)
Discussion; 11) Extemporaneous Speaking; 12) Informative Speaking; and 13) Duo
Interpretation.
Class A Highlights
The Class A field features six returning gold medalists from 2014 and all six return in the
same categories. Neil Porter and Chloe Swanson of Wrenshall return in Duo Interpretation
and Heidi Bau of Murray County Central of Slayton is looking for her second gold medal in
Extemporaneous Reading. Sydney Erhardt of Cannon Falls is looking for her third consecutive
title in Extemporaneous Speaking.
Anagha Komaragiri of Fairmont is seeking her second consecutive crown in
Informative Speaking and Andrew Grant of Mounds Park Academy of St. Paul returns to
defend his title in Serious Interpretation of Drama.
The other returning 2014 Class A medalists:  in Discussion – Chloe Litts of Staples
Motely, runner-up, Connor Prafke of St. Peter, seventh, and Knute Oldre of Luverne, eighth;
 in Duo Interpretation – Cam Pederson of East Grand Forks, third in Creative Expression,
Abby Plumley of East Grand Forks, sixth in Storytelling, and the team of Alyna
Kleinwolterink and Kate Folkman of Morris Area, seventh;  in Extemporaneous Reading –
Julia Okerman of Fairmont, runner-up, and Christopher Molenaar of New London-Spicer,
third;  in Extemporaneous Speaking – Shane Price of Mankato Loyola, runner-up, Nicole
Riegert of Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, third, Charlie Stejskal of Maple Lake, fifth, Bradley
Foster of Walker-Hackensack-Akeley, sixth, Spencer Svendsen of Staples Motley, seventh,
and Brent Larson of Marshall School of Duluth, eighth;  in Great Speeches – Peter Nielsen
of Fairmont, third, Hannah Sorenson of TrekNorth of Bemidji, fifth, and Matt Breuer of
Cannon Falls, sixth;  in Humorous Interpretation – Matthew Koring of WalkerHackensack-Akeley, runner-up, Tiras Dotson of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, third, Will Cipos
of Mankato Loyola, fourth, and Jonah Meyer of Belle Plaine, sixth;  in Informative Speaking
– Tommy McCarthy of Adrian, third, Rachel Newville of Perham, fourth, Jodi Bents of
Adrian, fifth, and Hailey Bruns of Walker-Hackensack-Akeley, sixth;  in Original Oratory –
Katie Hieserich of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, fourth, and Briana Schmidt of River Valley,
sixth;  in Serious Interpretation of Drama – Zuag Paj Her of Westbrook-Walnut Grove,
fourth, Masen Virginia of Wrenshall, eighth, and Calli McCartan of Stewartville, eighth in
Serious Interpretation of Prose;  in Serious Interpretation of Poetry – Grace Steward of
Walker-Hackensack-Akeley, runner-up, Lily Satterlee of Sauk Centre, fourth, Matt Lockett
of Cannon Falls, fifth, and Hannah Eslinger of St. Croix Lutheran of West St. Paul, seventh;
 in Serious Interpretation of Prose – Erin Hackenmueller of Milaca, runner-up, and Allison
Leopld of Mounds Park Academy, eighth in Duo Interpretation;  in Storytelling – Alec
Lorenz of Belle Plaine, fourth, Nick Reed of Jackson County Central, fourth in Duo
Interpretation, Molly Dunn of River Valley, fifth, and Molly Tengwall of Belgrade-BrootenElrosa, seventh.
Cannon Falls leads the Class A field by qualifying 16 competitors. Mounds Park
Academy qualified 15 competitors and Fairmont qualified 13.
Class AA Highlights
The Class AA field features three gold medalists from the 2014 field. Of the three, two
will compete in the same category and one will look for gold in a different category. Puneet
Arora of Chanhassen is looking for his second consecutive title in Informative Speaking and
Jack Ellis of Orono is in search of his second gold medal in Serious Interpretation of Drama.
Sophia Miliotis of Roseville Area is the final defending champion. She won in
Humorous Interpretation in 2014 and will compete in Storytelling this year.
The other returning 2014 Class AA medalists:  in Duo Interpretation – Eric Sobieck of
Roseville Area, third in Serious Interpretation of Drama, Nick Saxton of Eagan, fourth, Kyle
Christiansen of Roseville Area, fifth, Maddie Sell of Eagan, fifth in Serious Interpretation of
Drama, Jackson Cobb of Eagan, sixth in Serious Interpretation of Drama, and Stephanie
Butler of Lakeville North, seventh;  in Extemporaneous Reading – Shealyn Kawlewski of
Mankato West, third, Sarah Nelson of Moorhead, seventh, and Miranda Rice of Blaine,
eighth;  in Extemporaneous Speaking – Parker Breza of Benilde-St. Margaret’s of St. Louis
Park, seventh;  in Great Speeches – Molly Eldevik of Benilde-St. Margaret’s, sixth, and
Brock Drevlow of Thief River Falls, eighth;  in Humorous Interpretation – Stephanie Kahle
of Apple Valley, runner-up, Abe Stauber of Chanhassen, sixth, Micah Spieldenner of
Chanhassen, seventh in Duo Interpretation, and Auna Lee of Moorhead, seventh;  in Original
Oratory – Sean Mullin of Lakeville North, seventh in Duo Interpretation, and Zeinab Hussen
of Eden Prairie, eighth;  in Serious Interpretation of Drama – Noah Lyden of Roseville Area,
runner-up in Serious Interpretation of Prose;  in Serious Interpretation of Poetry – Mia Miller
of Moorhead, runner-up;  in Serious Interpretation of Prose – Cami Sharratt of Prior Lake,
fourth in Creative Expression, Connor Schwartz of Chanhassen, sixth in Duo Interpretation,
and Bonia Biju of Shakopee, seventh.
Moorhead qualified 29 individuals. Lakeville North had 20 and Chanhassen advanced
18.
Schedule
The schedule is the same each day with the first round at 10:15 a.m. The second and third
rounds will begin at 11:45 a.m. and 1:15 p.m., followed by the finals at 3:30 p.m. Awards will
begin at 5:30 p.m.
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Tournament results will be posted on the League’s website — www.MSHSL.org.