Champs again: Moorhead High speech team wins section title, sets team record
April 18, 2018
For the 24th consecutive season, the Moorhead High speech team captured the Section 8AA title with a complete team performance that saw a team-record 27 entries qualify to advance to the April 20 state tournament. Moorhead will represent the section in all 13 categories, with top three sweeps in Extemporaneous Speaking, Informative and Drama.
Eleven speakers placed first, including seniors Ian Bahe (Creative), Bridget McManamon (Ex. Speaking), Izzy Larson (Poetry), and Luke Seidel (Prose); juniors Katherine Leiseth (Ex. Reading), Sophia Klindt (Humor), and Kaden Moszer (Drama); and sophomores Cassidy Wendt and Jonah Hanson (Duo), Anni Yoney (Inform), and Ali Astrup (Storytelling).
Larson advances to state for the fourth time in her speech career while McManamon will make her third consecutive appearance. Leiseth, Klindt and Moszer join Ariana Grollman (Humor), Jennie Hastings (Drama), and Dylan Stage (Drama) as two-time state participants. Larson will pursue her fourth state medal while McManamon, Seidel, Leiseth, Grollman, Klindt and Hastings all will vie for their second straight trip to the state final round.
The MSHSL Class AA State Speech Tournament is Friday, April 20 at Apple Valley High School. Moorhead High is the two-time defending state AA champion.
Moorhead High’s section finalists are:
• Creative: Ian Bahe – first, Matt Rosson – fourth, Evyn Judisch – fifth;
• Discussion: Sydney Anderson – second;
• Drama: Kaden Moszer – first, Dylan Stage – second, Jennie Hastings – third; Mustafa Ahmed – fourth;
• Duo: Cassidy Wendt and Jonah Hanson – first, Greta Almlie and Stella Mehlhoff – second, Lily Kjos and Ethan Crompton – fourth;
• Extemporaneous Reading: Katherine Leiseth – first, Chelsea Bubbers – second;
• Extemporaneous Speaking: Bridget McManamon – first, Claire Stoltenow – second, Emma Pranger – third;
• Great Speeches: Molly Hauf – second, Neva Miller – third, Emma McFeely – sixth;
• Humor: Sophia Klindt – first, Ariana Grollman – third, Maret Holm – fourth, Ella Halgrimson – fifth;
• Informative: Anni Yoney – first, Grace Halvorson – second, Anna Larson – third, Ashley Buegel – sixth;
• Oratory: Meghan Johnson – second, Jack Entzion – third, Lance Morlock – fourth;
• Poetry: Izzy Larson – first, Amelia Bjorklund – third, Juli Hanson – seventh;
• Prose: Luke Seidel – first, Margaret Dickey – second; and
• Storytelling: Ali Astrup – first, Alex Seigel – second, Alyssa Haagenson – fourth.
Photo: Moorhead’s Bridget McManamon presents in extemporaneous speaking at the Moorhead High speech team’s open house “Shut Up and Say Something” on April 9. McManamon selected her topic 30 minutes before the event and prepared her 10-minute speech in that time. Moorhead High’s speech team won the Section 8AA tournament and is advancing a record 27 entries (29 speakers) to the state tournament on April 20. Credit: Renée Grover
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