By Jody Markgraf, coach
The road to the state speech tournament is a long, arduous one. While it does not involve running laps or lifting weights, it does require emotional stamina and enduring cold, early mornings. This year, once again, the road to the state tournament was led by the Kimball Fire Department as Camen Miles, Katelyn Lichte, and Logan Bartholomew were treated to a pepfest and a celebratory trip around town before leaving for Chanhassen High School Friday, April 20, to represent Section 5A and Kimball Area High School in the 2012 Class A State Speech Tournament.
The season begins unofficially in mid-October, when students begin warming up their public speaking skills with Mondays After School, an informal gathering where they learn expression techniques through imagination and improvisational exercises. As they roll through November, they begin selecting scripts and working on cutting works down to an eight-minute time limit, or gathering resources for extemporaneous categories. Finally, on Dec. 7, the season officially begins, and practicing for the first tournaments in January is underway. The competitive invitational season extends through the end of March, and the Conference, Sub-section, and Section tournaments occur in late March through mid-April. Of the 25 students on this year’s roster, three were left standing on April 14.
Katelyn Lichte, junior, is a second-year participant in KAHS speech and has been in the category Extemporanious Speaking both years. At each meet, Katelyn draws topics for each of three rounds, then spends 30 minutes preparing a 7-minute speech from her accumulated resources. To answer the topic she draws, Katelyn must cite sources to support her opinion on the topic and persuade her audience. As always, Katelyn is a professional and strives to rise to the top of her competition. Her performance at the state tournament was good, averaging about fourth place in each round. Her scores did not qualify her for the final round, but her critiques unanimously praised her for her organization techniques and smooth delivery style.
Logan Bartholomew, also a junior, is a third-year Speecher, who battled his way through a very competitive group of speakers in Section 5A Serious Drama. Following his state qualification, he worked diligently to prepare his performance to be State quality, and determined to “Go big, or go home,” and worked hard with coaches. In his preliminary rounds, he earned scores of first, third, and third, qualifying him as one of the top eight competitors in the final round (the only Serious Drama representative from Section 5A). Rumor has it that he had several observers in tears with his portrayal of a man who has lost his wife to a horrible crime and then confronts her attackers in the play “Touch” by Toni Press-Coffman. His efforts paid off, and Logan finished as sixth place Class A in Serious Drama.
Camen Miles, yet another talented junior, is a lifetime speecher, having tagged along with his coach/mom from the age of 6. This is his fifth year as a competitor and his second in Creative Expression. Camen wrote his script, entitled “The Bedtime Story,” about a father who has tired of telling his strange children the standard fairy tale, and makes one up instead. The ensuing story is an entertaining romp that combines elements of both classic fairy tales and contemporary film with a twist of Eddie Izzard-esque humor. Camen’s preliminary scoresÐsecond, fourth, and secondÐqualified him to compete in the final round (along with both 5A Creative competitors Marten Thompsen, NLS, and Renee Schminkey, Pine City). Although his scores from his judges would have qualified him for a third place medal, Camen was unfortunately disqualified and received no medal because his knee hit the floor during his performance. This was a violation of the MSHSL rule which states “A student who is physically able must stand during the entire presentation except in Discussion.” Nevertheless, Camen is among the top eight performers in Class A Creative Expression, which cannot be taken away nor denied.
Katelyn, Logan, and Camen will celebrate, along with their teammates, this season’s amazing successes at their upcoming team banquet, the date/time TBD. A showcase of speakers is planned in conjunction, and community members are invited to come watch the showcase portion. Please watch the Facebook page “KAHS Speech” and the Tri-County News for updates.
Speech state tournament results: 3 went, 1 placed sixth
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