Around 50 students are members of the speech team. Included are the teams four senior captains; Ben Engler, Maddie Kaiser, Joey Kretchman-Grande, and Whitney Magnuson. The team spend their time practicing and working on performances in OHS English teacher Julie McMerty’s room. “We all get along and have fun together. We support each other,” said senior Hanna Mahan.

The coaching staff has increased dramatically this year as well, led by McMerty who “[the team] calls Mystic because one day on the bus someone misunderstood McMerty for Mystic,” said sophomore Alex St. Dennis. The other coaches include OMS English teacher, Katie Stanley, Renee Shot, OHS debate team coach Mischa Bernstein, and Deb Ludeweise.

There are thirteen speech groups in the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL), which are classified under two main categories; interpretation and public address. Interpretation focuses on acting while public address focuses on current events. In contrast, the National Forensics League (NFL), a national honor society, includes about seven categories.

Interpretation group includes creative expression, duo interpretation, extemporaneous reading, humorous interpretation, and serious prose, poetry and drama. Public address includes round table discussions, original oratory, storytelling, extemporaneous and informative speaking, and great speeches.

Members of speech team can be involved in multiple categories and can compete in either novice or varsity depending on the tournament. Tournaments take place every Saturday, with a bus leaving bright and early at 6:45 AM.

“The most challenging aspects of speech, I feel, are memorizing the piece you’ve selected for the season, and overcoming nervousness prior to a performance,” said Preston Schlueter, “I’ve been a member since the beginning of this season, and was an observer at two tournaments last season.”

After arriving at the tournament, team members spend time going over their pieces, and acting them out to the wall. “If a normal person walked into a speech tournament, they’d probably see a long line of people talking to the wall,” said freshman Jack Ellis. The tournament consists of three rounds with finals and an awards ceremony at the end.

There is also a traveling speech team consisting of about ten people. They recently attended the Duluth Rotary tournament, and a tournament at Harvard University over President’s Day Weekend.

The speech team has brought home many different awards this season, all of which can be seen in the display case on the second floor next to McMerty’s classroom.

Andrea Conover is a Copy Chief for The Spartan Speaks.