Small team, big impact: CHS Speech team gears up for postseason

Carmen Thomas
Onwardtrojans.com

For the speech team, less is more. The small but mighty group of orators looks forward to its postseason and has only one tournament remaining in the regular season.
The team competes in public speaking and acting events. Despite having a smaller group, this year’s senior class, including Lilly Demmon, Damion Lopez, Maddi Morton, and Dex Trzaska, won seven events at Penn High School’s tournament in mid-January.
“Our team has been top three at most tournaments this year,” said junior El Thompson, a three-year member who competes in Humorous Interpretation and Original Oratory. In the regular season, a dozen schools compete at tournaments.
But not all the satisfaction comes from trophies and ribbons. The speech team is also known for its traditions.
“My favorite memory is when I got the sweepstakes plaque at Elkhart,” said four-year senior Lilly Demmon, who competes in Programmed Oral Interpretation (POI) and Humorous Interpretation.
Their trophy cases don’t have room for the trophies earned in the regular season, so the coaches select one deserving competitor to take it home after each tournament, a time-honored tradition.
Speech has 15 different events, so most competitors are double-entered. Although each event requires different skills, more than natural talent can make the difference.
“Many people have natural skills in public speaking and performing, but overall it's a person's work ethic and ability to better themselves that makes a person successful in speech,” Thompson said.
Demmon noted that the purpose behind a performance is also key to a successful speech career.
“The things that make someone good at speech are confidence, fun, practice, growth, and teamwork,” Demmon said. “It’s important to have a purpose behind your performance – to remind you why you do all the work and dress up every weekend.”
The team continues to improve as it moves into postseason, which includes sectionals, districts, and state.
“I predict a majority of our team will be moving on to state in March,” Thompson said.
The Indiana Schools Speech and Debate Association (ISSDA) is host for the state tournament every year at Fishers High School. Chesterton Speech has won the ISSDA tournament 24 times.
“I predict that we are going to have a really fun senior postseason,” Demmon said. “It’s a unique community that I will forever be grateful for.”
The team will conclude its regular season at Concord High School on Saturday. Then, it will compete at the sectional tournament at Crown Point High School on Feb 22.

— Chesterton student Carmen Thomas, in intern for onwardtrojans.com, is among the five seniors competing for the speech team.