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Fitch speech team sends three more to nationals
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .The Austintown Fitch Speech and Debate team supported each other during a long national qualifying tournament at Boardman High School on Feb. 17 and 18. The tournament was a success, with the team qualifying students Jacob Clausen, Daniel Ferguson, and Caitlin Beckett for the National Forensic League tournament in Indianaplois this June.
By SARAH FOOR
Area speech teams gathered at Boardman High School on Feb. 17 with their hearts set on a June trip to Indianapolis for the National Forensic League Tournament.
The intense two-day competition was one of the final tournaments to decide national qualifiers for the Northern Ohio speech and debate district, which includes teams from Austintown, Boardman, Canfield and Poland.
Each team carried different expectations and momentum as they entered the tournament.
John Mazzucco, a former head coach and current assistant for Austintown Fitch, said the team was young, including many underclassmen, but its hoping for strong performances in duo interpretation and prose poetry events.
“We have a few strong, experienced seniors, but a lot of younger students. We already have 17 state qualifiers, and hoping to add more qualifiers for nationals today,” Mazzucco said.
Fitch added three more national qualifiers, as Jacob Clausen, Daniel Ferguson, and Caitlin Beckett advanced to nationals.
Boardman coach Eric Simione, who handled hosting duties for the tournament, said his team’s strength was in performance events like humor, duo, extemporaneous speaking, prose poetry and drama.
“Northern Ohio will be sending 36 students to nationals, one of the largest groups ever. Our hope is that those ranks will include at least three or four Boardman students,” Simione said.
Simione proved prophetic as Alicia Lawson, Kiyan Taghaboni, Matthew Albani, and Taylor Hanigosky all qualified for the national tournament.
Canfield’s team hoped to offer a strong showing because of its large team of 95. Coach Jeremy Hamilton said Canfield’s year included many top spots in tournament team awards. “Our team is heavy on experience and that trickles down to younger students. We’re hoping for great results in humor, duo and public forum debate. The students have definitely put in a lot of time and practice,” Hamilton explained.
Poland speech team officers Jayne Catlos, Panayiotis Constantine and Jacob Courtney explained their team as small, but with plenty of heart.
Assistant team coach Amanda Franklin echoed the sentiment.
“We’re small, but each student has shown great growth this year and they’ve really stretched themselves. Our team has a lot of personality, which translates to setting our hopes on good showings in humor and original oratory,” Franklin said.