The LSW Forensics team has entered their postseason competitions and competed in crucial tournaments on Saturday, March 8, and Saturday, March 15. Speech and debate collectively won runner-up for National Qualifiers on March 8 and speech won District A-1 Championship on March 15.
“I think getting runner-up was really valuable, just because of all that the team went through. I’ve been able to see how the team is able to come together and really bond as a group,” senior Ben Quattrocchi said. “Even in a situation where we might not have gotten first, it still felt fantastic to watch each individual member succeed and thrive. For that I am really grateful.”
National Qualifiers for speech and debate started at 8 a.m. and competition continued till awards at 7 p.m. However, due to a delay, the final round of Lincoln-Douglas happened after awards which consequently qualified sophomore Rezin Mwiathi for Nationals. The other qualifiers were:
- Seniors Cole Wilkason & Quattrocchi as well as Anderson Ibe-Ikechi & sophomore Hussein Keshk in Public Forum
- Senior Brooklyn Bruggeman in Program of Oral Interpretation (POI)
- Senior Maya Stevenson in International Extemporaneous Speaking (Extemp)
- Senior Jack McCormick in Dramatic Interpretation (DI)
- Senior Mason Farmer & junior Brooklyn Shoemaker in Duo Interpretation (Duo)
- Junior Claire Timperley in Informative Speaking (Info)
Alongside the qualifying awards, Angela Kwameamea won Assistant Debate Coach of the Year and senior Lillian Bittle won Nebraska District Student of the Year. Bittle’s nomination will be passed on for consideration for National Student of the Year.
Following National Qualifiers, speech continued to practice over spring break for their district competition on Saturday, March 15. Their practices were in 30-minute sessions held from 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11, and continued through Friday, March 14.
At the A-1 District competition, the top four competitors advanced to State and 16 LSW competitors did exactly that, many placing and qualifying in multiple events such as:
- Bruggeman in DI
- Farmer & Shoemaker as well as McCormick & Davis in Duo
- Sophomore Conor Schultz in Entertainment
- Junior Macy Gondringer and Stevenson in Extemp
- Warjri and Shoemaker in Humorous Interpretation
- Stevenson and Timperley in Info
- Stevenson and Davis in Original Oratory
- Sophomores Audrey Haugen, Danielle Ibe-Ikechi, Lyra Walsh, Davis & Bittle as well as juniors Chance Ready, Ezra Erickson, McCormick & Bruggeman in Oral Interpretation of Drama
- Farmer in Poetry
- Bruggeman in POI
“As the second postseason competition, I definitely felt the pressure of putting forward the best possible performances. I was absolutely shocked when I received first in all three of my events,” Stevenson said. “Especially competing against another top team in our district, Norris, I didn’t know how Saturday would turn out. The result was a testament to the work put in throughout the season, momentum going into State and Nationals, and my passion for using my stories, experiences, and messages to effect change.”
State Speech will take place at Kearney High School in Kearney on Wednesday, March 26. Debate doesn’t compete in a district competition, but rather are directly forwarded to State Debate which will be held at LSW on Saturday, March 29. On Friday, March 28, LSW scholars get an early dismissal at 1 p.m. to prepare for the competition on the following day.
