This past weekend, the Chesterton Speech Team hosted the sectional tournament. The state of Indiana is divided into 7 sections which all compete within their own regions to earn a chance to compete at the state tournament. The team ended up in 2nd place with 140 points. Chesterton broke 25 out of 36 entries into the final round, which qualifies them to the state tournament on March 12th in Fishers, Indiana.

Students competed in three preliminary rounds, then a final round for the top six in each event. Discussion was the only event large enough to need a semifinal in addition to the other four rounds. By breaking into the final round, a student secures a spot at the state tournament. From there, placings within the top 6 determine seeding for the state tournament.

Notably, Jackson Dudek was the sectional champion in both of his events. after finishing his regular season undefeated in Broadcasting having won at every tournament he’s competed in. Additionally, Dylan Leavitt had a perfect tournament, scoring nine out of nine first-place rankings at the tournament, an extremely rare accomplishment.

The following students finished in the top 6 in their events and will compete at state:

• Hannah Anders: 6th in Informative
• Addison Botts: 4th in Poetry
• Gretta Burke: 1st in Discussion
• Julia Dietrich: 5th in Informative 
• Jackson Dudek: 1st in Original Performance, 1st in Broadcasting
• Freedom Eiden: 6th in International Extemporaneous
• Gigi Hanner: 4th in Original Oratory, 2nd in Broadcasting
• Riley Hawksworth: 5th in United States Extemp.
• Joshua Hoover: 4th in Humor, 1st in Original Performance
• Savannah Hutchinson: 5th in Duo
• Sierra Hutchinson: 5th in Duo
• Mark Jewison: 3rd in Impromptu, 1st in United States Extemp.
• Elsa Leady: 6th in Humor
• Dylan Leavitt: 2nd in Informative, 1st in POI
• Miranda Miller: 6th in Poetry, 3rd in Drama
• Natalie Nuñez: 2nd in Original Oratory
• Nathan Osborn: 3rd in United States Extemp.
• Hamza Sahli: 5th in Impromptu, 2nd in International Extemp.
• Carmen Thomas: 3rd in Original Oratory
• Sara Vasquez: 4th in Broadcasting

Next weekend, the team travels to the District Tournament at Crown Point High School to compete for individual spots at the National Tournament in June. The following week, the team heads to Fishers High School for the State tournament.