After over a year-long hiatus from in-person competition, the Chesterton speech team had a very strong showing at their home tournament this Saturday, the 13th. There were over 200 total entries vying for the top spots in each of the 14 events. On Saturday, Chesterton’s entries were dominant across the board, signaling an excellent start to the new season.

In the novice (first-year) division the following students advanced to the top 6 in their events:

Broadcasting:

3rd- Damion Lopez

2nd- Abby Gniadecki

Dramatic Interpretation:

5th- Spencer Poole

Humorous Interpretation: 

1st- Elsa Leady

Improv Duo:

2nd- Spencer Poole and Damion Lopez

Original Oratory:

2nd- Lilly Demmon

1st- Carmen Thomas

Poetry:

4th- Madison Morton

1st- Addison Botts

Prose:

2nd- Elsa Leady

In the varsity division, the following Chesterton competitors made it into final round for their events:

Broadcasting:

6th- Robert Mueller

4th- Sara Vasquez

2nd- Gigi Hanner

1st- Jackson Dudek

Extemporaneous Speaking:

4th- Gigi Hanner

Humorous Interpretation:

2nd- Hannah Anders

Informative:

6th- Julia Dietrich

Improv Duo:

5th- Katie Asbury and Madison Morton

3rd- Michael Livovich and Elsa Leady

2nd- Joshua Hoover and Jackson Dudek

Original Performance:

4th- Katie Asbury

1st- Joshua Hoover and Jackson Dudek

Original Oratory:

2nd- Gigi Hanner

1st- Natalie Nuñez

Prose:

5th- Natalie Nuñez

4th- Lilly Ewen

Additionally, Chesterton introduced a new award at this tournament, where the top 3 speakers in both novice and varsity were honored for earning more points across all events than anyone else.

In novice individual sweepstakes:

3rd- Damion Lopez

2nd- Elsa Leady

In varsity individual sweepstakes:

3rd- Gigi Hanner

Overall, the first varsity tournament of the season, (and the first time the team has competed in-person since March 7th, 2020), proved to be an incredibly successful one for Chesterton. The Sandscript wishes the whole team great luck for the rest of their season!