CJI speech team finishes second at state

By Rhonda Petersen

CJI Speech Coach

Friday and Saturday, the Chester-Joplin-Inverness Speech team and dozens of other Class B and Class C schools competed at the State B/C Speech, Debate and Drama Tournament in Bigfork. 

The Hawks brought five competitors to state and all five qualified for the semi-final rounds.

To advance to the semi-finals, competitors needed to be in the top 14 in their individual events.  

Seniors Shivell Norick and Kyran Neer led the way for the Hawks, going into semi-finals in second place in their events. 

Norick scored two ones and a two in preliminary rounds to advance to semi-finals in memorized public address.

Neer scored three twos to advance to semi-finals in original oratory. 

Norick received strong scores in semi-finals including two more ones to advance to finals.

Norick performed well in finals and she received one of the three first-place scores on her way to a second-place finish.

Neer received strong marks in semi-finals as well, earning two threes and a first from the three judges to advance to finals in third place. Neer gave his best performance of the tournament in the final round. earning two ones and a two to claim the championship in original oratory with his powerful oration about how the role toxic masculinity plays in mass shootings.

Samantha May, CJI's third senior on the team, competed in spontaneous oral interpretation of literature. May had solid scores in preliminary rounds to advance to semi-finals, where she used strong scores, including a one from one judge, to advance to finals. She continued her solid performance in finals to claim fourth place in SPOI.

Junior Emma Wickum used excellent performances in semi-finals and finals to catapult herself to second place in extemporaneous speaking. 

Wickum entered semi-finals in 11th place and advanced to finals with scores of one, two and four, going into finals tied for fourth place. Her strong speech in finals pushed her up in the rankings. Wickum received a one, a two and a three from final round judges to finish in second place in extemp.

Junior Cain Cole, competing in one of the most competitive events in the tournament, used solid scores in preliminary rounds to advance to semi-finals in dramatic oral interpretation of literature. 

Cole came up just short of making finals despite scoring a two from one of the three semi-final judges and ended up in 10th place.

As a team, the Hawks nearly claimed their first state speech trophy since 2006. The Hawks scored a combined 42 points with all five team members contributing points toward that total. 

First place finisher Gardiner scored 43 points with an 11-person team including seven debaters.

Fort Benton rounded out Class C speech teams, claiming third place with 23 points.

In Class B speech, a long-time winning streak was ended.  Loyola Sacred Heart, which had won the Class B speech title for more than 30 years in a row, was dethroned by Great Falls Central Catholic High School. The Great Falls Central Mustangs used a dominating performance in debate to earn 151 points. Loyola Sacred Heart was second with 139 points and Three Forks finished third with 116 points.

In Class C Drama, Gardiner was first, Simms was second, and West Yellowstone was third.  In Class B Drama, Broadwater County High School from Townsend claimed the championship, followed by Huntley Project from Worden in second and Baker/Plevna in third.