Speech team excels at State

LaRue County High School’s speech team competed last weekend in the Kentucky High School Speech League State Championship at Bowling Green.

From left, Jeshua Logsdon won two State Championships while Angelia Whitlock, Ian Mather and Timmy Gibson, also placed.

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Forty-five schools competed for the top six spots in each event. Each school could bring a maximum of 36 entries.

LaRue County had 20 entries – just a little more than half of those allowed – yet placed fourth out of the 45 teams.

 “This is LaRue’s first finish in the top six overall schools in a long time,” said Katy Cecil, the team’s coach. The team competed in a “bigger strength class (AAA)” than last year (single A).

Junior Jeshua Logsdon won the state title in poetry. Juniors Timmy Gibson and Ian Mather took second and third respectively.

Logsdon took another state title in prose while Gibson placed fifth.

“Jeshua is one of only two students at the tournament to win two individual state championships,” Cecil said.

Mather took third in Dramatic Interpretation and advanced to semi-finals of prose.

Chelsea Blair took second in Declamation and sixth in oratory.

Angelia Whitlock advanced to semi-finals in humorous interpretation.

The top three finishers at this tournament are eligible to win bids to the National Tournament of Champions in Fullerton, Calif.

More wins

On March 5-6, the team qualified six students for a National Tournament to be held over Memorial Day weekend in Omaha. At the Kentucky Catholic Forensic League State Qualifier, LaRue took the following individual awards: James Reding, first, Congress; Gibson, second, prose/poetry; Blair, second, oratory; Mather, third, prose/poetry; Logsdon, fourth, prose/poetry; Andrew Skaggs and Spenser Reed, first, public forum debate. Cody Thompson was a semi-finalist in dramatic Interpretation, but did not qualify for nationals.

“The team took third place overall with only nine entries, their highest finish in the last 12 years,” Cecil said.

The team competes March 19-20 in the National Forensic League state qualifier, which will send the top two students in each event to another national competition in Kansas City, Mo.

On March 25, team members will present excerpts of their award-winning performances at Paula’s Hot Biscuit.