DANVILLE FORENSICS

News release

LEXINGTON — Danville High School’s forensics team placed second just behind Rowan County Senior High School at the Kentucky Educational Speech and Drama Association (KESDA) Senior Forum held February 21-23 in Lexington. Contests were held in 15 speech events plus two debate events over three days with 800 entries overall in the tournament. Lexington Dunbar, Boone County, Cooper, and Murray High School rounded out the top six teams in the field. Danville placed first in Speech events with champions in seven of the events but scored just behind Rowan in overall sweepstakes points, 600-592, as Rowan outscored Danville in the two Debate events. Danville also earned the Margaret Greynolds Team Efficiency Traveling Trophy, custody a large silver cup awarded each year to the team with the highest average of points per student (designed to recognize the year’s outstanding team effort). KESDA celebrated its 30th year in 2019 with Danville participating in the last 24 (plus was registered for 2015, called off for snow). This was the ninth second-place finish for the Admirals, who have also won the contest five times.

Danville senior Charlie Hall was named the Pentathalon winner, the highest honor given at the contest, for his overall scores in five events — the maximum allowed with at least one event in each basic Speech area (Original Speech, Interpretation, and Limited Preparation). Danville senior Emma Merryman was second overall in Pentath with Danville’s Haley Hopkins (fourth), Samantha Sallee (eighth), and Claire Strysick (tenth) also recognized in Pentath.

Senior Joseth Warner led the Admirals with three first place finished in events (Dramatic Interpretation, Poetry, and Prose) with Hall winning two events (Broadcasting and Storytelling), Merryman winning Oratory, and senior Natalie Grubbs winning Informative Speaking. The Speaking Admirals placed 24 entries into finals in regular events with 46 breaks out of the preliminary rounds (either in the top six – finals, the top 12 – semifinals, or the top 24 – quarterfinals). Full results are listed below. The Ads next compete at the tryouts for NCFL Nationals (held this year in Milwaukee) on March 9 before defending their state title at the Kentucky High School Speech League State Speech Tournament the following weekend.

Speech results for Danville HS at KESDA:  Broadcasting: Charlie Hall, first; Emma Merryman, Semis; Evey Kinkade and Summer Quinn and Claire Strysick – Quarters. Declamation: Lauren Lucas, fifth. Dramatic Interpretation: Joseth Warner, first; Samantha Sallee, second; Natalie Grubbs, fourth; Lina Morales, Semis. Duo Interpretation: Virginia Harp and Samantha Sallee, fourth; Abigail Anderson and Lauren Lucas, Semis; Haley Hopkins and Joseth Warner, Semis. Extemporaneous Speaking: Katie Critchfield, Semis. Group Interpretation: Claire Strysick, Emma Merryman, Summer Quinn, Evey Kinkade, and Joseth Warner, third; Caroline Graves, Britton Minks, Conner Tucker, Haley Hopkins, and Samantha Sallee, fifth. Humorous Interpretation: Haley Hopkins, third; Charlie Hall, fourth; Britton Minks, Semis. Impromptu Speaking: Emma Merryman, second; Ethan Reyna and Claire Strysick, Quarters. Improvisational Duo: Charlie Hall and Haley Hopkins, second; Caroline Graves and Ashley Rankin, Semis; Jenna Haines and Madelyn Mullins, Semis. Informative Speaking: Natalie Grubbs, first; Samantha Sallee, second; Haley Hopkins, sixth; Katie Critchfield and Evey Kinkade and Claire Strysick, Semis. Oratory: Emma Merryman, first; Claire Strysick, fourth; Virginia Harp, fifth; Charlie Hall, Semis. Poetry: Joseth Warner, first; Abigail Anderson and Taylor Ballard and Megan Goosey and Libby Hale, Quarters. Program Oral Interp: Emma Merryman, fourth; Taylor Ballard, sixth. Prose: Joseth Warner, first; Naomi Israel, Quarters. Storytelling: Charlie Hall, first; Taylor Ballard, third.

Danville also earned several other honors at the statewide meet. Taylor Ballard earned the outstanding novice award for Congress; Lauren Lucas earned it for Dramatic Interpretation. In Novice Speaker Finals, Abigail Anderson won first with Gabriel Harper sixth; senior Barrett Minks served as the Admirals’ judge for the Novice Interpretation Finals. Additionally, in a new improvisational interscholastic event, the Ad Game, six Admirals were among the game’s first participants and were divided among the six teams, earning medals with students from four other schools for working together to create and present an advertising campaign for an imaginary product in just five minutes; Abigail Anderson, Glynn Brown, Megan Goosey, Allison Lowry, Lauren Lucas, and Lina Morales all pioneered the Ad Games with Lowry’s team placing on top.