Submitted photo Pictured are the Marshall High School speech team members who competed at the 2018 State Class AA Speech Tournament

MARSHALL — Three Marshall High School speech competitors finished in the top five at the 2018 State Class AA Speech Tournament this weekend at Apple Valley High School.

Mariana Oaxaca took third place in poetry, while Alexa Amundson finished third in prose. Isaiah Schroeder collected a fifth-place medal in drama.

“For all three of these speakers to finish in the top five is really extraordinary,” MHS head speech coach Rick Purrington said. “It was thrilling for our students to go toe-to-toe with the best speakers in the state — many from nationally decorated teams — and not just hold their own, but emerge among the best.”

Purrington said that each of the state tournament categories consisted of 24 speakers.

“There are three qualifiers from all eight sections in the state,” he said. “A speaker earns a state medal by advancing into the top 8 and this is one of the highest honors anyone can receive in speech. We had three medalists this year. This is the most number of medalists in a single year that our team has had since 2013, when we had three.”

Two other MHS students also earned state speech trips and competed well. Allie Lamote finished in 14th place in drama, while Alexa Doerr was 16th in original oratory.

“All five of our state qualifiers have worked incredibly hard this season and participating in the state tournament is a really special honor all of them have truly earned,” Purrington said. “Of the five, four are seniors and Isaiah is a sophomore. All of these state participants have qualified for the NIETOC National Tournament in Denver, Colorado, in May. Mariana has also qualified for the very selective NSDA National Tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in June.”

This year marks the second time Oaxaca qualified for the state speech tournament. While she competed in dramatic interpretation last year, she attempted a new category this season.

“At the beginning of the year, my coach came across a selection of poetry that was so new that it hadn’t even been published yet,” Oaxaca said. “But it touched on a topic that she thought would be a great fit for me. The poems consisted of one general theme: growing up in America as a Latin-American with the unspoken rivalry between the two cultures and most importantly, it’s toll on those who feel that they must ‘choose’ one or the other.”

Oaxaca said she took a chance on the new category because she felt a connection to the poems.

“I had never done poetry in my life before, but these pieces moved me in a way that I couldn’t let this opportunity pass by,” she said. “I like to think that part of the success that I’ve had with my first year in poetry has to do with my passion for the topic. Not only did this piece bring me numerous awards throughout this season, but it also brought me profound clarity about who I am and what I’ve gone through growing up with immigrant parents and trying to balance my Mexican heritage and American culture.”

Oaxaca said the poems sparked important conversations with her parents, sisters and “even complete strangers.”

“I think that was the best award for me this year: the gift of being able to bring light to this subject and to also connect with those around me,” Oaxaca said.

After qualifying for state in poetry this year, Oaxaca said she didn’t necessarily have high hopes of medaling since it was her first year in the category and she hadn’t made state finals the previous year.

“But when I found out that I broke into finals, I was ecstatic and thanked God that I had just made it into the top 8 in the state,” she said. “After my final round, I honestly thought that I was going to finish in the bottom four because of how tight the competition had been. Again, I was just happy to be in that final round. As I stood up on that stage, hearing the announcer go from eighth place, to seventh and all the way down to fourth and still not hearing my name being called, I was stunned.”

Finally, they called Oaxaca’s name for third place.

“I felt such joy in receiving my medal,” Oaxaca said. “I had made it to the top 3 in the state my first year in this category. I could not be happier with how the tournament played out for, not only me, but my teammates as well.”

The only disappointment for Oaxaca is that it’s her fourth and final year in high school speech. But she’s grateful for the many skills and memories she’ll be taking with her when she leaves.

“My senior year has been my best, by far, and I thank God everyday for the blessings that it has brought me, not only competitive-wise, but also through the friendships and self-growth that it has brought me,” she said. “It breaks my heart to know that it is coming to a close, but I am so grateful that I can look back on it with the biggest smile on my face.”

Oaxaca said she could not have asked for more throughout the season, adding that she accomplished every single goal that she set for herself.

“I advanced at every competition, qualified for NIETOC again and NSDA for the first time, which I think is what I’m most proud of,” Oaxaca said. “I also won the Big South (Conference) and made finals at state. I can leave this season without a single regret, and I am so lucky to be able to say that.”

Amundson’s speech involves portraying 35-year-old Jenifer Estess, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

“She dies at 40 years old with ALS, a disease that destroys the nervous system and gradually causes physical disability,” Amundson said. “The biggest challenge I faced with portraying her was her physicality. Throughout the time she was diagnosed with ALS, she experienced shaking in her arms and legs, decreased mobility, labored breathing and eventually death.”

Amundson said she’s quite satisfied with how she did at state, especially since it was her first year as a participant in the tournament.

“I was extremely proud of myself considering it was only my second year in speech and my first appearance at state,” she said. “The state tournament is very competitive, with the top talent in the state, so I was very pleased with my third-place finish.”

Along with advancing to the state tournament, Amundson said not only set other goals for herself this season but achieved them as well.

“Throughout the speech season I had four goals, which included breaking into varsity finals at the Chanhassen tournament, placing in Varsity finals at Speech Spectacular, qualifying for Nationals in Denver and competing at the state tournament,” Amundson said.

Schroeder’s speech this year is about Scaramouche Jones.

“Scaramouche Jones is a gypsy man who, after the sudden death of his mother, moved to Italy, where he resided for a few years,” Schroeder said. “When the war broke out, gypsies were at risk, so he moved to Poland, where he was then captured and imprisoned in a Nazi death camp. After seeing the death and destruction of all the prisoners, he decides to try and make them happy.”

Schroeder said Jones is beaten for his actions, which included smiling, winking and laughing at the guards.

“But it never stopped him from his quest,” Schroeder said. “After the war, he was imprisoned for false war crimes, but after years and years of prison, he is set free due to false imprison.”

When searching for a word to describe how he felt about finished fifth at state, Schroeder said he was “ecstatic.”

“Words cannot describe how grateful I am toward Coach (Rick) Purrington for helping me and guiding me through this long and competitive season,” Schroeder said. “I am so proud of all my teammates, as well as myself for bing able to accomplish such feats as we have this year. This is my first time ever being a competitor at the state competition, and so to be a finalist during my sophomore year is very surreal.”

Along with advancing to the state finals, Schroeder said he’s proud to have qualified for the national competition.

“I have accomplished more than I could have ever imagined in this speech season,” he said. “I have to thank my duo partner, Jack Pedersen, for being such a wonderful and enjoyable partner and friend this year. Jack and I will be competing at the national competition this year in Denver, Colorado, and we couldn’t be more excited. There have been up and downs, but I have had such a blast working with all these amazing people on the team this year and I can’t wait for the next season to roll around.”

Schroeder noted that he loves the competitive aspect of speech so much.

“It’s so enjoyable to be able to go into a competition and not know what I’m getting myself into,” Schroeder said. “There will always be people to give me a run for my money, but I know that if I put all the practices in throughout the season, I can beat them all out and climb to the top. I think I’ll use the skill of transforming myself into the character next year, instead of building it up around my current personality. Doing so should bring the whole speech to a more realistic level and make it the best that it can be.”