DEBATE RESULTS: GREENHILL

Congratulations to senior AVHS debater Chris Theis for defending his championship of the prestigious Greenhill Round Robin on September 11-12. The Greenhill Round Robin invites only 12 highly ranked debaters from across the country to compete for its prestigious title. With his second victory, Chris became the FIRST person in the HISTORY of the round robin to win the championship title twice. Chris won the final round on a vote of 3 to 0.

In addition, congratulations to both Chris Theis and senior Michelle Keohane for a successful showing at the Greenhill Invitational Debate Tournament on September 13-14. In a field that attracted over 150 debaters from across the country, Chris was named a semifinalist (top four) and Michelle was named a double-octafinalist (top 32). Chris earned a bid to the Tournament of Champions in Lexington, Kentucky where he won the Championship as a junior. Chris was the second junior to ever win the TOC! Congrats to both Chris and Michelle to a great start to the debate season!

DEBATE RESULTS: BLOOMINGTON JEFFERSON INVITATIONAL

Congratulations to the Apple Valley Debate Team to a great start to the Minnesota in-state invitational debate season! On October 4, Apple Valley won two of the three events offered in Lincoln-Douglas debate, narrowly getting second place in the last division. In varsity Lincoln-Douglas debate, senior Michelle Keohane was named the Champion. In Junior Varsity, sophomores Jon Slater and Sean Cheren were named Champion and runner-up, respectively. And in novice, freshman Crystal Ramsumair was runner-up, nearly topping a field of over 80 debaters. In addition, speaker awards were won by senior Kevin Granlund and sophomore Jordan Parmett.

Thank you for your interest in joining the Apple Valley Debate Team. We are excited to see all those interested in trying out at the informational meeting on Friday, September 5th at 2:30 in room 108.

For your convenience, here is a link to the novice tryout packet. Please pay close attention to the details and read everything carefully to make your tryout the strongest it can be.

Novice Tryout Packet

We hope to see you at tryouts!!!

High school forensics, which includes speech and debate, has become one of the most exciting and challenging activities for students to participate in. We here at Apple Valley High School feel quite passionately about why it can benefit everyone. We have a great deal of literature that will help you to decide if Apple Valley Speech and Debate is the right activity for you.

Here are a few more resources / testimonials that might help you make that decision. These are provided by the National Forensic League (NFL) which is the national organization that promotes speech and debate around the country.

Jonathan Carr This is probably the most compelling testimonial for debate you will ever read. Jonathan is actually a student who used to debate a former Apple Valley student, David Singh. As an interesting side-note, both David and Jonathan now work together in a New York law firm.

Minh Luong (One of the most highly respected names in high school debate, Minh Luong is an Assistant Professor of Ethics at Yale.) This is an article that he wrote on the benefits of speech and debate.

Michael Urie (Professional Actor) Michael was a National Champion in Speech in the category of Dramatic Interpretation. You can see Michael on the show “Ugly Betty.”

Carol Houlihan Brown (Debater) It’s Not About the Trophies

Jason Raphael Williams (Actor) Writes about the benefits of speech.

Nicole Lowrance (Actress) Writes about the benefits of speech.

The Value of Speech, Debate, and Theatre Activities by Dr. Kevin Minch

“Those 4 years in debate were the educational foundation of everything I did. And I don’t mean that in some simple form…I’m saying the finest education I got from any of the institutions I attended, the foundation of my mind that I got during those 4 years of competitive policy debate; that is, 90% of the intellectual capacity that I operate with today–Fordham [University] for college, Fordham for the Ph.D., Harvard for law school–all of that is the other 10%.” — John Sexton, President of NYU

At the beginning of July, 2008, Pam Cady Wycoff, Director of Forensics at AVHS launched an Alumni Network in hopes of reconnecting the Alumni of AVHS Speech and Debate with each other and with the current team. As of 7/24/08, she has received complete contact information from the following individuals:

Martha (Leary) Leo (’90), Dawn (Syren) Jenkins (’90), Matt Herzog (’90), Peter Nikolai (’90), Dave Peterson (’91), Suzanne (Fedoruk) Herrick (’92), Liz (Reilly) Brama (’93), Lannia Syren (’93), Andrea (Dubberke) Nypen (’94), Anna Chandonnet (’95), Angela (Zurick) Miller (’95), Robb Lindgren (’96), Joey Reilly (’96), David Singh (’96), Ann Karp (’97), Leah Halvorson (’97), Anne (Gerbensky) Kerber (’97), Annie Kastanek (’97), Charis (Van Dusen) Thatcher (’98), Warlesha Ryan (’98), John Halbach (’98), Anne (Wiegand) Morris (’99), Ryan Lindberg (’00), Erin (Kaufenberg) Reichelt (’00), Erin Trenda (’00), Emily Rosichan (’00), Rob Dirks (’00), Nicholas Harazin (’00), Anna (Marino) Robinson (’00), Kristine Reese (’01), Megan Bartle (’01), Mary Nhotsavang (’01), Kelsey (Olson) Scholz (’02), Krystyn Spratt (’02), Mandy Anderson (’02), Sarah Beck (’02), Lindsay Childs (’02), Rachel Poker (’03), Sarah Bane (’03), Cara Illiof (’03), Jessie Salley (’04), Erica Robinson (’04), Sarah Gauche (’04), Kim Osterberg (’04), Alex Lichty (’04), Rose McDonough (’04), Peter Simones (’05), Gena Haugen (’05), Ronni Toledo (’06), Joe Polzin (’06), Erin Granlund (’06), Emily Tappainer (’07), Carrie Van Dusen (’07)
It was great to hear from you!

We know there are many more of you about to send in this information. Help us to make our list complete! There over 110 members who have responded, but we do not have everyone’s COMPLETE contact information. Any efforts to help classmates and team members send in their information would be appreciated!

Congratulations to the Apple Valley Speech and Debate Team for an outstanding finish to the 2007-08 school year. The team was one of only six schools to receive a School of Excellence Award in Speech out of a field of over 900 schools! And, we were one of only two schools in the nation to receive a Speech Team of Excellence Award at both NFL and NCFL Nationals. The other school was Leland High School in California! The team sweepstakes award was discontinued in 1996 and in 1999 the Team of Excellence award was instituted. Teams that advance students through a total of 50 elimination rounds are designated Schools of Excellence. This is the seventh time AVHS has received this honor. Every year since 1990, AVHS has been recognized with a Team Award by either the NFL or NCFL, including the prestigious Bruno E. Jacob Award which recognized AVHS for its career total of accumulated rounds of performance at NFL Nationals.

Special recognition should be given to Apple Valley’s FOUR National Finalists. AVHS had Three Main Event National Finalists in Speech, more than any other school at the tournament. Captain Jamaka Young ended her career by finishing as the National Runner-up in Original Oratory. Matt Porter and John Hofmeister placed 5th and 4th respectively in Dramatic Interpretation. AVHS was the only school in the nation to have two finalists in one speech event. In addition, Chevala Connor placed 3rd in the Nation in the Supplemental Event of Prose Interpretation. This brings the Grand Total of NFL National Finalists (top 6 in the nation) to 47. This combined with the NCFL National Finalists (43) means that since 1992 AVHS has had 90 students place in the top six in the nation.

Other AVHS Team Members receiving awards were:
Ellen Roos and Szuyin Leow who were quarterfinalists in Original Oratory.
Kirstie Kimball and Kevin Granlund who made it to rounds 9 and 10 respectively in the event of Lincoln-Douglas Debate and were designated as elimination round winners.
Also competing at NFL Nationals were:
Alex Ryan and Michelle Keohane in Student Congress
Chris Theis and Zach Lancet in United States Extemporaneous Speaking
Mackenzie Ellis in Duo Interpretation

Congratulations to everyone on a great performance!

Congratulations to the Apple Valley Speech Team for a successful tournament at the National Catholic Forensic League Grand National Tournament held over Memorial Day Weekend in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Yet again, Apple Valley was the Team recipient of the Founder’s Award for Excellence in Speech, an honor that was given only to the Top Five Teams out of the 572 schools in attendance. Apple Valley cleared nearly every speech team member to the octafinal round, including one national finalist.

Special congratulations go to senior Ellen Roos, who received third place in Original Oratory.

Also winning awards were quarterfinalists Chris Theis (extemporaneous speaking), John Hofmeister (dramatic Performance), and Jamaka Young and Szuyin Leow (original oratory); and octafinalists Ashley Tanberg (declamation), Tatiana Burton (oral interpretation of literature), Matt Porter (dramatic performance) Abbie Gotter (original oratory), and Chevala Conner and Mackenzie Ellis (dramatic duo).

Congratulations to all on a successful weekend!!!

Chris Theis is first junior to win TOC in sixteen years

Lexington, KY—Solidifying his reputation as the best debater in Apple Valley history, Chris Theis took on the best of the best this past weekend at the University of Kentucky and brought home the school’s first championship.

The tournament, dubbed the Tournament of Champions, invites the best seventy students in the country from among thousands of debaters nationwide. Similar to the Masters Tournament in golf, students qualify for the tournament by succeeding at select tournaments around the nation. Uniquely, the Tournament of Champions rewards students who succeed throughout the year. Among Theis’ successes were his championship performances at both the St. Marks School of Texas and the Emory University tournaments.

Apple Valley students have appeared in the final round of the Tournament of Champions three times previous to Theis’ win. David Singh (’96), Kelsey Olson (’02) and Tim Hogan (’04) all lost the final round on 3-2 decisions. As well, Theis is the second student in tournament history to win the event as a junior, the first junior won in 1992, which was also the last time a junior even appeared in the final round. Apple Valley head coach Pam Wycoff remarked, “This win is especially important for us because it has been twelve years coming for the school. For Chris to win as a junior is incredibly momentous as it really hasn’t been done in his lifetime and it could not have happened to a more deserving, hard working student.”

Theis’ road to the championship included finishing as the fourth place speaker and the fourth seed after losing just one round in preliminary competition. In the first elimination round, Theis defeated Todd Liipfert from Strake Jesuit High School in Houston, Texas. He defeated Andrew Cockroft from Elkins High School in Missouri City, Texas and Joan Gass from the Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas on route to the finals.

The final round pitted Theis against Becca Traber from the Kinkaid School and another Texan. The students debated whether it is just for the United States to use military force to prevent the acquisition of nuclear weapons by nations that pose a military threat. Theis defended the negative and argued that the use of military force violated international law. A panel of seven judges adjudicated the contest and decided on by a 6-1 margin, one of the largest margins in tournament history, that Theis had the winning arguments.

The 2008 State Speech Tournament was held at South St. Paul High School this Saturday, April 19th. Apple Valley added 11 more individual medals to its count, with 2 new state champions and 4 runner-ups. In total team medals, they placed behind Eagan’s 14 and tied with Lakeville North. John Hofmeister in Drama and Matt Porter in Prose were named champions, while Tatiana Burton, Szuyin Leow, Jamaka Young and Hannah Koch all received second place finishes.

Here are the final results.

John Hofmeister, Drama State Champion
Matt Porter, Prose State Champion
Tatiana Burton, Poetry Second Place
Szuyin Leow, Original Oratory Second Place
Jamaka Young, Drama Second Place
Hannah Koch, Great Speeches Second Place
Sarah Brickner, Great Speeches Third Place
Alyson McClure, Informative 5th Place
Brian Johnson, Informative 6th Place
Chris Theis, Extemporaneous Speaking 6th Place
Alex Ryan, Discussion 7th Place

Kate Brown also represented Apple Valley at the tournament.

With 14 finalists and four champions, AV finished off its regular season speech tournaments at Roseville this weekend. Once again they showed a great deal of depth in Oratory, Great Speeches and Informative, taking first, second and third in Oratory and first and second in Great Speeches and Informative. This week’s first place finishes include Jamaka Young in Drama, Ellen Roos in Oratory, Sarah Brickner in Great Speeches and Mia Owen in Informative. Additionally, the team took second in Poetry (Tatiana Burton), Great Speeches (Mary Heisel), Informative (Lindsay Swiggum) and Oratory (Jamaka Young). Among other strong placings were novice Beth Shulz in Poetry, Nick Williams and Abby Schoenbeck with their first final rounds of the season in Creative and Discussion respectively, and Elise Reller in Storytelling. AV took a close third in sweepstakes behind a second place Eastview team and a very strong Eagan first place team.

Here are the rest of the results
Jamaka Young 1st Place Drama
Sarah Brickner 1st Place Great Speeches
Mia Owen 1st Place Informative
Tatiana Burton 2nd Place Poetry
Lindsay Swiggum 2nd Place Informative
Jamaka Young 2nd Place Oratory
Mary Heisel 2nd Place Great Speeches
John Hofmeister 3rd Place Oratory
Mckenzie Ellis and Chevala Conner 5th Place Duo
Abby Schoenbeck 6th Place Discussion
Beth Schulz 6th Place Poetry
Elise Reller 6th Place Storytelling

Honor Finals
John Hofmeister 1st Place Drama
Erica Madore 1st Place Great Speeches
Emily Peterson 1st Place Storytelling
Chevala Conner 2nd Place Drama
Angela Gyamfi 3rd place Great Speeches
Liv Sherman 3rd Place Extemporaneous Reading
Jim Gilbertson 4th Place Creative
Jenni Roehl 4th Place Prose

In a very busy and long weekend, AVHS Speech pounded out another impressive showing at both the National Qualifying tournament and Wildcat Invitational. The team added 9 more students to its list of competitors going to Las Vegas in June for the NFL National Tournament. For this tournament, students had to place in the top three in their respective events.

Coinciding with qualifiers was the Wildcat Invitational. Apple Valley took four overall with two first place finishes: Lindsay Swiggum in Poetry, Brian Johnson in Informative, Mary Heisel in Great Speeches and Kate Brown in Extemp Reading. Listed below are the rest of the results for both tournaments.

NFL Qualifiers:
Domestic Extemp
Chris Theis
Zach Lancet

Oratory
Ellen Roos
Jamaka Young
Szuyin Leow

Drama
John Hofmeister
Matt Porter

Duo
Chevala Conner and MacKenzie Ellis

Congress
Alex Ryan
Michelle Keohane

Lincoln Douglas Debate
Kirstie Kimball
Kevin Granlund

Wildcat Eagan Invitational
Julia Tindell 4th Discussion
Mary Heisel 1st Great Speeches
Brittany Caplin 7th Great Speeches
Sarah Brickner 2nd Great Speeches
Erica Madore 3rd Great Speeches
Angela Gyamfi 5th Great Speeches
Brian Johnson 1st Informative
Rachel Gulden 4th Informative
Brian Johnson 3rd in Oratory

Despite losing a number of students to illness this week, AVHS Speech took second place at the Lakeville North Invitation (3/1). Though the tournament hosted only 10 schools, this rather competitive meet consisted of 3 rounds, an intense semi-final round, and a final round (most tournaments have only 3 preliminary rounds and a final). Apple Valley had strong holds on Oratory and Great Speeches where they had four of the six finalists, as well as drama, were they had three of the six. John Hofmeister put together a very impressive weekend winning both Oratory and Drama. Liv Sherman also broke through with a first place finish in Extemporaneous Reading. Brian Johnson and Jamaka Young offered big contributions with final round placings in two different events a piece.

Here were the results.
John Hofmeister 1st Place Oratory
John Hofmeister 1st Place Drama
Liv Sherman 1st Place Extemporaneous Reading
Tatiana Burton 2nd Place Poetry
Sarah Brickner 2nd Place Great Speeches
Jamaka Yound 2nd Place Drama
Lindsday Swiggum 2nd Place Informative
Jamaka Young 3rd Place Oratory
Brian Johnson 3rd Place Informative
Kate Brown 3rd Place Extemporaneous Reading
Emily Peterson 4th Place Storytelling
Brian Johnson 4th Place Oratory
Erica Madore 4th Place Great Speeches
Ellen Roos 5th Place Oratory
Brittany Caplin 5th Place Great Speeches
Kirstie Kimball 6th Place Extemporaneous Speaking
Angela Gyamfi 6th Place Great Speeches
Chevala Connor 6th Place Drama

Non-advancing Semi-Finalists included
Zach Lancet Extemporaneous Speaking
Matt Potter Poetry
Nick Williams in Creative Expression
Mckenzie Ellis and Chevala Connor Duo

Next week, Apple Valley will be at two tournaments: NFL Qualifiers (held at Eastview and Eagan) and the Eagan Invitational.

Apple Valley added two more students to its list of students going to Las Vegas this summer, the site of this year’s Grand National National Forensic League Tournament. Student Congress is a competitive forensic event that closely resembles the structure and organization of congress. It is split into two houses: the senate and the house of representatives. Students must master parlimentary procedure and receive nominations from their peers. Adult judges oversee the process and ultimately evaluate students on their ability to navigate the process and communicate effectively.

This year, Apple Valley will be sending juniors Alex Ryan and Michelle Keohane. Apple Valley also had the second alternate, Chris Theis, in the Senate and the first alternate, Zach Lancet, in the house. Kirstie Kimball and Chelsea Grasham were also finalists.