The Perham Speech Team competed at the Melrose Speech Invitational, their last regular season meet, over the last weekend in March. They placed sixth amongst 46 teams from around the state.
The Melrose tournament provided speakers an opportunity to try a category called Improvisational Speaking. Improv speakers must prepare a three-minute speech in under one minute given only a subject and quote. Six of Perham’s speakers competed in this uncommon category and one advanced to finals.
Another unique aspect of this tournament was having coaches select one speaker on their team to win the “Heart and Soul” award, an award given to a competitor who shows passion for the activity. Perham coaches selected Clodarl Seeman, a seventh-grader whom they described as “an incredible young woman who understands that speech requires dedication, drive, and determination. Every practice, every performance, she continues to give her absolute best.”
The tournament consisted of finals, next-in finals and merit finals. A final round consisted of six to seven speakers, depending on the size of the category. Finals included the top seven, honor finals top 14 and merit finals top 15-21.
The following individuals placed at the tournament:
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Creative Expression
Honorable Mention: Lily Aakre
Discussion
Merit Finals: Reid Starzl - fourth
Honorable Mention: Angelina Nicholas
Drama
Merit Finals: Andrea Guajardo - sixth
Honorable Mention: Lily Aakre
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Duo
Next-in Finals: Emily Kirchenwitz & Sadie Shippee - sixth
Great Speeches
Next-in Finals: Bynn Greisen - second
Humor
Finals: Beau Johnson - sixth
Honorable Mention: Clordarl Seeman
Improvisational Speaking
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Finals: Lily Aakre - sixth
Informative
Finals: Crisavy Seeman - seventh
Honorable mention: Anya Roe
Original Oratory
Next-in Finals: Aspen Thiel - fourth
Next-in Finals: Clara Tangen - fifth
Merit Finals: Angelina Nicholas - first
Prose
Honorable Mention: Lauren Schreader
After Easter break, the Perham Speech Team will be competing at the Subsection 22A tournament hosted by Underwood on Friday, April 9.
