Fort Scott High School earns state speech title

Wednesday, May 11, 2011
The Fort Scott High School forensics team poses with their trophy immediately after winning the state speech title at the recent 2011 state tournament in Topeka. The team has won the title the last three years.(Submitted Photo)

The Fort Scott High School forensics team has once again captured the state speech title.

This year was different from the previous two in which the championship was decided by just a few points. The 2011 state tournament saw the team pull away in the semifinal and final rounds to win by a margin of nearly 100 points. Of the 16 team members, 14 advanced to semifinals and 10 continued on to the finals to earn state medals.

This is the first time in nearly 20 years a 4A team has accomplished the three-peat. The reason for this is that it is the largest of any of the classifications. The 4A tournament has more than 500 competitors each year, nearly double the competitors in the 5A and 6A state tournaments.

These 500 students earn their way to the state tournament by placing in the top two at local tournaments throughout the year. In the end, the best of the best compete for a state medal.

A team is only allowed to bring 16 entries to compete. This levels the playing field for smaller teams, a news release said. Fort Scott qualified 49 entries this year and had to narrow down to the 16 permitted. This year's tournament had 49 schools in competition for the state sweepstakes title.

Coach Brian Weilert put the state forensics tournament in perspective.

"It is really is hard to describe," he said. "It is unlike any other state competition. In some events, you have over 70 of the top kids in the state vying for just six finals spots. Not only is the competition difficult but then you throw in the unknown of a judge's opinion and you have a bit of a crapshoot. The kids have to be talented, but they also need to stand out above all that talent ... a little bit of luck helps as well."

In the opening round, the Tiger squad opened up a seven-point lead over last year's runner-up, KC Sumner Academy in Kansas City, Kan.

That margin was narrowed to only six points by the conclusion of the second round. In the third round, Fort Scott separated itself from the pack putting up 70 points to take a 26-point lead.

In the semifinals, the Tiger team expanded the margin by advancing 14 of their original 16 members. The next closest school had eight in this round. By the end of the semifinal round, it was clear no one was going to catch Fort Scott, the release said.

The margin increased yet again in the finals as 10 of the 14 Tigers made it into the medal round. In finals, the team had a lot of success. Eric Garner and Baker Weilert won the duet title followed closely by Glenn Gaeke and Reed Ramsey who finished in second place.

In serious solo acting, Jeff Durbin captured the title with Ramsey right behind to earn his second state medal.

The humorous solo acting finals also had two Fort Scott team members competing with Matt Carrillo and Addi Brown finishing in fifth and sixth place, respectively.

The Tiger squad was also represented in the prose and poetry finals as Leah Casselman ended in third place in prose and Kurtis West placed sixth in poetry. Chase Rooks rounded out the medals for the squad earning two state medals, finishing fourth in both informative speaking and extemporaneous speaking.

Other team members who contributed to the overall sweeps title by earning points in both preliminary and semifinal rounds include Daniel Lyon, Delynn Drake and Ackland Milton.

While the state championship is taking place in Topeka, the state festival is going on in Kansas City. The state festival is for students who qualified for state but did not get selected as one of the 16 representing the team at the championship.

These students perform their selections one time and receive a rating, much like state band and choir.

Here, too, the team found success with the following 10 students earning I ratings: Rebeka Khajehpour (serious solo), Julia Karner (serious solo), Hayden Shelden (humorous solo), Ben Sweyko (humorous solo), Matt Higgins (prose), Brysen Russell (prose), Ashley Allen (extemporaneous speaking, oration), Brett Allen (informative), and Jacob Casselman (informative).

"This is a great way for these students to end the year," Weilert said. "We have such a competitive team, it is tough to narrow it down at the end of the year. With that said, it is not easy to earn a top rating at the state festival. I am proud they ended on such a positive note."