It’s officially a dynasty … for the tenth year in a row, a team of students from the School for the Creative and Performing Arts took first place in the annual Kentucky High School Speech League State Junior Division Tournament. The tournament, which was held before spring break in Bowling Green, hosted teams from 37 middle schools across the state.

 

The team from Winburn Middle School received a second place Horizon Awards, given to schools with smaller entries who demonstrate excellence at the State Tournament.

 

A total of 25 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders from SCAPA earned the chance to compete in Bowling Green by stacking up wins in other competitions this season. More students actually qualified, but the school was able to take only its top three students in each of 11 category events to the state tournament. The team, coached by Beth Randolph and Debbi Dean, has roughly 60 members.

 

“These kids work much harder than anyone really realizes,” said Randolph, a fifth grade teacher at SCAPA. “We are at school practicing three nights a week until about 9 p.m. and sometimes later, and our season lasts from early September until mid to late March.”

 

Officials with the Kentucky High School Speech League said SCAPA’s 10 year run is likely a state record, but unfortunately, they haven’t kept statistics on the junior division well enough to determine for certain.

 

It was also unclear whether SCAPA eighth-grader Ellie Todd’s five state championships in three years of competition was a record, but said it was “certainly rare.” Ellie won first in extemporaneous speaking her sixth grade year, first in oratorical declamation and public speaking as a seventh grader, and this year as an eighth grader she won first in oratorical declamation and interpretation of literature.

 

Her wins came despite a diagnosis of the flu the day before the competition began. When Randolph told the team on Thursday night that Ellie was sick and possibly not coming, one of her teammates responded, “Ellie would wheel an iv pole with her if she was hooked up to one. She’ll be here.”

 

The following students posted top six performances in the state finals: in radio broadcasting: 4th Place – Jennifer Rhodenhiser; in duo acting: 2nd Place – Miles Conger and Bobby Jones, 3rd Place – Jacob Brashear and Emma Jackson; in extemporaneous speaking: 2nd Place – Wilson Shirley, 3rd Place – Ellie Todd; in interpretation of literature: 1st Place – Ellie Todd, 2nd Place – Bethany Finley, 6th Place – Maja Fus; in improvisational duo: 4th Place – Beth Bollinger and Annie Wang; in oratorical declamation: 1st Place – Ellie Todd; in poetry: 1st Place – Jamie Vescio, 3rd Place – Jennifer Rhodenhiser; in prose: 3rd Place – Stella Sharpe; in public speaking: 2nd Place – Rachel Nebeker, 4th Place – Macy Early; in solo acting: 2nd Place – Bethany Finley; in storytelling: 4th Place – Adela Wilson.