The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

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March 24, 2010

7 speakers place at district event

The Herald

MERCER — Seven Mercer High School Speech Team members placed in the top six of their individual events Saturday at the Pittsburgh National Forensic League District’s annual national qualifying tournament at North Allegheny Senior High School in Wexford.

The daylong elimination tournament featured competition in six individual speaking events. After three preliminary rounds the top 12 to 14 students in each event advanced to a semifinal round with the top six or seven meeting in a final round before a five-judge panel. The top two place winners in each event qualified to the N.F.L. national tournament, scheduled for Kansas City, Mo., in June.

Though not qualifying any speakers to nationals, two of the top five place winners in duo interpretation were Mercer teams. The team of senior Joe Ligo and sophomore Brandon Little won fourth place. The pair was ranked in the top three in each preliminary round.  After receiving a first place reranking in semifinals, the pair placed fourth in the final round. Freshmen Andrew Roseman and Orion Anderson claimed fifth place. They received rerankings in the top three in all four rounds prior to the final round.

Junior Kyle Grabigel was awarded third place in humorous interpretation, making him the alternate to the national tournament in his event. He was reranked in the top two in his preliminary rounds and in the semifinal round prior to placing third overall in the final round.

In dramatic interpretation junior Jennifer Knauff won fifth place overall. She was given a second-place ranking in her third round and in the semifinal round.

Junior Erin Eperthener earned the sixth place plaque in original oratory. She received first-place rerankings in preliminary rounds.

The seven Mercer speakers who advanced to the semifinal round of their events included: senior Amarilla Fair in original oratory, senior Ethan Duncan in United States extemporaneous speaking, freshman Cole Handerhan in humorous interpretation, senior Zoe Anderson and sophomore Kate Adams, both dramatic interpretation and the duo interpretation team of freshmen Anna Conner and Austyn Piepenhagen.

Mercer speakers will be idle from tournament competition until April 17, when speakers in grades seven through 10 travel to Keystone Oaks High School in Dormont, for the annual Pittsburgh district freshman-sophomore tournament.

 Eleven Mercer speakers will travel to Omaha, during the Memorial Day weekend to compete in the 58th Grand National Tournament of the Catholic Forensic League. They earned the opportunity to compete at nationals by placing in the top three of their events at the Catholic Forensic League of Erie’s national qualifying tournament in early March.

The speakers are preparing to host their only official public performance of the year on April 16 when they presents their annual “Evening Of Forensics” at 7 p.m in Mercer High School auditorium. Tickets for the two-hour performance and a desserts reception are being sold by speech team members and their parents. Tickets can also be purchased at the door.

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