The Chesterton High School Speech Team won 2nd place at the Valparaiso High School Speech Tournament on February 19th. The team had 28 finalists across 14 different events. 10 of those students placed in the top 3, and 5 of them finished as tournament champions. Notably, Dylan Leavitt continued her winning streak in both Informative Speaking and Programmed Oral Interpretation, and Gigi Hanner continued her winning streak in Original Oratory.

Although the tournament was small, the team faced their strongest competition for the upcoming postseason. After three rounds and a final, the team got a glimpse at what next week’s sectional tournament will look like. 

     “A second-place win today is a good sign for next week when our team is at full strength,” said coach Aaron Drew, who gave several of his students a break from competition before the postseason begins.

The 2nd place team sweepstakes trophy was bestowed upon senior, Lilly Ewen, who won first in Prose Interpretation for the first time in her speech career. Coach Dakota McCoy, took the opportunity to highlight that anyone can become a champion if they decide to put in the work. 

      “Lilly’s participation in speech has been off-and-on over the last few years, but this year she decided what she wanted, set a goal, and put in the work to get there. It’s an example of growth that I hope her teammates will look up to” said McCoy.

The following students placed in the top 8 for their events:

• Hannah Anders: 6th in Humor, 3rd in Informative
• Julia Dietrich: 8th in Drama, 7th in Informative
• Jackson Dudek: 1st in Original Performance
• Freedom Eiden: 6th in Impromptu, 5th in International Extemporaneous
• Lilly Ewen: 1st in Prose 
• Gigi Hanner: 1st in Original Oratory
• Patrick Hansen: 7th in United States Extemp
• Riley Hawksworth: 4th in United States Extemp 
• Josh Hoover: 1st in Original Performance
• Savannah Hutchinson: 7th in Duo
• Sierra Hutchinson: 7th in Duo
• Mark Jewison: 5th in Impromptu, 2nd in United States Extemporaneous
• Elsa Leady: 4th in Humor
• Dylan Leavitt: 1st in Informative, 1st in POI
• Damion Lopez: 6th in Duo
• Miranda Miller: 5th in Drama, 5th in Poetry
• Natalie Nuñez: 6th in Drama, 2nd in Original Oratory
• Nathan Osborn: 3rd in United States Extemp
• Spencer Poole: 6th in Duo
• Hamza Sahli: 1st in International Extemp
• Carmen Thomas: 4th in Original Oratory
• Sara Vasquez: 6th in Broadcasting

On February 26th, the team will host the Section One and Section Two tournaments, where more than two hundred students from northern Indiana will attempt to qualify for the state tournament.