The Orono speech team opened up the season on Jan. 24 at Chanhassen high school. Two individuals for the Spartans had excellent meets. Senior Parker Roth and sophomore Jesse Bissen got first place in their categories.

The team finished in the top ten, so overall they performed well.

On Jan. 30, the Orono speech team traveled to Marshall, Minn. to compete in one of the largest tournaments in the state.

There were around 600 varsity individuals entered in the meet and many different teams across the state.

Eagan, with a speech team of over 500 kids, took home first place. Orono is a lot smaller in numbers, with about 80 students, but still managed to do well.

The Spartans had many individuals who received some sort of medal.

Leading the way was senior captain Jack Ellis who got first place in the category Varsity Dramatic Interpretation.

Sophomore Jesse Bissen got second place in the same event which got Orono as a team, many points.

Rounding up the top individuals for Orono High School was eighth grader Hanna Rose Harbison who got in the top 5 for the category of Great Speeches.

Orono has won four conference championships in a row, all of which coached by Orono English teacher Julie McMerty. This team will most likely win again.

“We have a lot of talent. We don’t have a ton of depth but have many experienced, talented speakers,” McMerty said.

Ellis is one of those talented speakers and will be attending Bradley University on a scholarship for next year to be on the speech team.

“I am very excited for what the future holds but right now I want to win state,” Ellis said.

Once again, standing in Orono’s way are the Red Knights of Benilde St. Margaret’s.

Benilde has a lot of depth and is always a force in sections. They are considered the gold standard for speech teams in Minn.

On the weekend of Feb. 7, the younger kids on the speech team will be going to Prior Lake High School while the varsity team will go to the prestigious tournament in Apple Valley, which features many of the state’s top teams.

The tournament consists of over 1,200 students from multiple states.

After that tournament, the team will be flying to Boston, Mass. to compete at the Harvard Invitational which is arguably the most competitive high school invitational in the nation.

The speech team is one of the top teams in Minn. With a plethora of talented individuals and taught by an experienced coach, the Spartans are a fun and exciting team to watch.