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BT Speech: Growing Together

By Jack Cenovic

Like many activities, competitive speech has been transformed by the pandemic. Participants this year have had to trade bus rides, trophies, and team dinners for Zoom speech rounds, virtual awards ceremonies, and group FaceTimes. Kidman Ip (‘22), who has participated in competitive speech throughout high school, explained to me in an interview that the new, online format of competitions has its pros and cons: “I enjoy performing my piece at home because then I don’t have to endure a long bus ride home when it’s late at night… However, I do miss the team atmosphere.” While more convenient, online speech tournaments can lack the greatly enjoyed team-oriented environment of in-person meets.

Despite challenges, speech competitors have done their best to stay positive and remain connected to their teammates. During an interview with Maya Savory (‘22), who has competed in speech since middle school, she described her favorite aspects of speech and this tight-knit community: “Some of my favorite memories in speech revolve a lot around teamwork. This year, I’ve always FaceTimed my friends during the awards announcements and it’s really fun to cheer them on and genuinely feel good for each other’s accomplishments.” Overall, many speech participants have managed to come together and support each other despite our present circumstances.

Beyond friendship, speech provides a platform for competitors to make a statement on the issues about which they feel most passionate. Akshay Mehta (‘22), who is competing in the Program of Oral Interpretation (POI) event for the first time this year, detailed his hopes for his POI this season: “My POI aspirations are to spread awareness about the normalized racism against Indian Americans as well as maybe place a lot at local meets and attempt the national stage.” A handful of Brownell Talbot speech competitors are perfecting their craft in preparation for the two major national speech contests, the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions (NIETOC) and the National Speech and Debate Association contest (NSDA).

One of the greatest benefits of speech is acquiring life skills through performing. Since seventh grade, Claire Cenovic (‘23) has run a piece in the Humorous Interpretation event, and she enthusiastically told me that, “Speech has taught me to be myself and be confident with that person. Doing Humorous Interpretation has allowed me to be goofy and make people laugh- which I love doing!” Ultimately, speech isn’t about awards and placements for its competitors; rather, it’s about learning, friendship, and advocacy.

Note: The YouTube video above consists of a collage of speech performances from the quoted members of the Brownell Talbot speech team. You may click on any individual's name in the article to see their speech performance, or you may watch the video in its entirety.

SPORTS

Enjoying Winter Sports Close to Home

by Mia Hatcher

Some of my fondest memories as a young child are learning to snowboard at Mount Crescent in Crescent, Iowa. I loved the feeling of gliding down the hill with the cold wind whipping across my face. I learned to snowboard at the young age of 5 years old. I quickly gained a love for the sport. By 10 years old, my family and I had gone to Colorado multiple times. We all enjoyed getting up early to be the first ones on the mountain. My brother and I were quite daring and always went on the most difficult runs, some of them being named “Death Valley” or “Witch’s Cauldron”.

That didn’t scare us, but it sure sent my mom toward the “Easy Street” sign. After years have passed, we gained the family tradition of going to Colorado every Christmas or spring break. In recent years, we have gone to Steamboat Springs, Copper, and Keystone. We did not go this year due to COVID, but we plan to snowboard in Breckinridge next winter. This winter, COVID affected many ski resorts. The lodges on the mountains were closed. As a result, skiers would have to eat outside. Additionally, many ski lift lines were much longer and spaced out to enforce proper social distancing. Although we weren’t able to “shred the slopes” this year, snowboarding is an important family tradition we cherish greatly.

BT Senior Breaks Records in Girls Basketball

Senior Josie Petrulis recently broke the school record for number of points scored over a career. The following are some questions and her responses about her recent achievements.

Q: How has your basketball career at BT impacted your life as a whole?

A: I have been at BT since pre-school so this school is pretty much all I have known. In middle school, I began playing AAU basketball which was an entirely different ball game from BT! At club tournaments, I was an entirely different player than I was at BT. Playing at such a small school, I was able to get opportunities at a Varsity level that my friends at public schools weren’t getting. At such a young age I was given immense responsibilities and leadership roles on the team which has transferred over to helping maintain my academics and broadening my social skills off of the court.

Q: What is your favorite aspect of basketball?

A: As important as scoring, steals, and blocks may be, defense is my favorite aspect of basketball. I love that when your shot is off or your head just isn’t in the game that nothing is stopping you from running back on D and getting a rebound. I love the drive that comes with defense and how it is such a mental game of who wants it more.

Q: What has your basketball career looked like up until this point? What are your next goals?

A: I have played basketball for the past 10 years practically year-round. I have met some of the most genuine friends I have through AAU and school basketball and made memories that will last a lifetime! I am so thankful for the past 4 years with Coach Dalkey, Moyer, and Dunlap and I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world. I am excited about what my future holds outside of basketball. I do not plan on furthering my basketball career in college (as of right now) and look forward to the new academic and social experiences I will receive at a bigger school next fall!

Q: What is your favorite memory playing here?

A: There are too many to choose from! Freshman year coming into a team with a previous 4 wins on the season I was skeptical… but winning the conference tournament that year then the next two are memories very close to my heart. Along with those conference titles all the school records have been broken over my time here. Whether it be my records, my teammates, or the team as a whole. I have loved watching the program turn absolutely upside down and seeing how far we have been able to come. I am excited to return years in the future and see how far Coach Dunlap and the rest of these girls will take us. I am so blessed to have been apart of the turning point in BT girls basketball history and I hope the program continues moving in this positive direction for years to come.

Q: In your own words, how would you describe your recent achievement?

A: I am so very grateful and humbled to call myself the leading scorer in Brownell Talbot Girl’s Basketball History. I owe absolutely everything to my family. The amount of time, money, and emotional investment they have put into my basketball career are unimaginable. I am eternally grateful for them having faith in me and my abilities and allowing me to join AAU. Without the experience of traveling all over the country to compete against the top recruits in the nation with my best friends, I wouldn’t be the person or player I am today. I am also very thankful for Coach Dunlap for always pushing us on and off the court to become better athletes and humans. Lastly, none of this would’ve been possible without my teammates, showing up to practice and games every day pushing me to be the best basketball player I can be. There are no words for how thankful I am to have received my recent achievement! But I’m not done yet and neither is this fierce basketball team! After months of uncertainty, I am so grateful to be out on the court with these girls, winning basketball games, let alone breaking records!

Senior Night for Boys Basketball

On February 2, 2021, the BT Raiders Men's Basketball team faced off against Heartland Christian, on senior night. Senior night, which is meant to celebrate and recognize the seniors participating in a winter sport, had a different atmosphere this year. With Covid-19 restrictions only allowing 6 guests per player, the gym was not as packed as it would've been in a typical year. Curious about how this night felt compared to previous years I interviewed Tommy Pugsley '21. When asked about the atmosphere of senior night Tommy said "Senior night was amazing, the atmosphere was buzzing with excitement and just being able to play with my fellow seniors and teammates was even better". Although senior night was not as typical as other years, it didn't have an effect on the players as they still enjoyed the game and felt like it was a special night.

The senior boys basketball players (Adi Pillai, Austin Vetter, Matthew Alli, Jake Gibbs, Tommy Pugsley, and Ismael Ali) are joined by coaches Steffon Bradford and Jason Gibbs.

In addition to a different senior night, this entire season has been quite different from past seasons. Playing through a pandemic has certainly been a challenge for the players and team. The season started much later than it normally would have and building chemistry was harder since the team had not been together for a long. I also talked with Tommy Pugsley '21 about how this season feels and if it's different than past seasons. He said "This season was faced with more challenges than any other season I've ever experienced. Having a new coach and just 6 practices before our first game was very challenging but our team pushed through the adversity and continued to get better and better. The team faced a lot of challenges and obstacles this season but are continuing to push through and play during an unusual time.

All in all, this has been an unprecedented season with many challenges but the players and team have enjoyed it and continue to push through the adversity.

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