STMA Knights Invitational

February 7, 2026

The team placed 4th out of 38 teams!

Our top performances from today were:

Merit Finalist:

Kacey Cossette (drama) 5th place

Jillian Luhman (drama) 7th place

Next In Finalist:

Sierra Salmen & Riina Larson (duo) 7th place

William Wendroth & Kevin Stanley (duo) 1st place

Natalie Jones (extemporaneous reading) 3rd place

Lea Ghazi (extemporaneous speaking) 2nd place

Zachary Marquette (humorous) 6th place

Arianna Hanson (poetry) 7th place

Finals:

Sierra Salmen (creative) 6th place

Natalie Jones & Lillian Turja (duo) 3rd place

Jillian Luhman (extemporaneous reading) 7th place

Molly Anderson (great speeches) 7th place

Laina Halonen (poetry) 1st place

Laina Halonen (POI) 2nd place

Ruby Moe (humorous)  1st place  

January 24, 2026

Team Results:

Large School 1st Place: Wayzata  Large School 2nd Place: Prior Lake

Small School 1st Place: Rosemount  Small School 2nd Place: Dassel Cokato! 

Orono- Mound Westonka Speech Results

The Odyssey: Your Journey Begins Here

January 24, 2026

Congratulations to the following speakers for breaking into finals: 

Novice Finalists: 

Lea Ghazi (extemp speaking)  3rd place

Kacey Cossette (drama) 1st place

Next-in Finalists:

Bridget Osmondson (creative) 5th place

Molly Anderson (drama) 3rd place

Daniella Herrera (extemp reading) 7th place

Molly Anderson (great speeches) 4th place

Ruby Moe (humorous) 1st place

Finalists:

Sierra Salmen (creative) 6th place

Kevin Stanley & William Wendroth (duo) 2nd place

Laina Halonen (poetry) 7th place

Laina Halonen (POI) 4th place

Ben Pererva (prose) 7th place

January 22, 2026

Each judge was able to recognize one speaker they felt was their overall best that they saw out of Both of their rounds.  There were nineteen judges and the Chargers had six “best-at-site” award winners. These winners included: Molly Anderson, Kacey Cossette, Laina Halonen, Daniella Hererra,  Ruby Moe, William Wendroth & Kevin Stanley

Thursday, January 22, 2026

Earning special recognition were: 

BB Ribbon Winners

Kayden Niece (informative)

AB Ribbon Winners

Elizabeth Andres (drama)

Jazyln Franklin (humorous)

Lea Ghazi (extemp speaking)

Hilton Gottschalk (prose)

Emilie Konsor (poetry)

Aliona Larios (poetry)

Jillian Luhman (drama)

Lydia Oslund (extemp reading)

Bridget Osmundson (creative)

Ava Ring (prose)

AA Ribbon Winners

Molly Anderson (great speeches)
Molly Anderson (drama)

Kacey Cossette (drama)

Laina Halonen (prose)

Laina Halonen (POI)

Zoey Harpole (storytelling)

Daniella Herrera (extemp reading)

Brooklyn Larson (creative)

Jillian Luhman (extemp reading)

Zachary Marquette (humorous)

Ruby Moe (humorous)

Ben Pererva (prose)

Sierra Salmen (creative)

Sierra Salmen & Riina Larson (duo)

Caylan Samuleson (discussion)

Adelina Spurzem (original oratory)

Kevin Stanley & William Wendroth (duo)

Earning A-100

Ruby Moe, Elizabeth Andres

Jillian Luhman, placed 8th in extemporaneous reading. This was Jillian’s first year competing in this category. 

Ruby Moe, competed with a cutting from the hilarious memoir, Jennifer Johnson is sick of being Single.  She placed 6th in humor after placing straight ones in prelims. 

Makayla Meyer competed in extemporaneous speaking for the second season. She answers questions about domestic events happening in the country.  Makayla placed 5th. 

Elijah Wheatley placed 5th in discussion. The topic this season was on “Workplace, Workforce, and the Nature of Work.”  Elijah was a discussion state competitor in 2023.

Sixtine David joined the speech team this year.  Sixtine is a foreign exchange student from France. She answers questions about international events in the world.  Sixtine placed 4th. 

Laina Halonen placed 4th in poetry. She performed portions of the book, Bullets into Bells by Brian Clements, Alexandrea Teague, Dean Rader.

Duo Natalie Jones and Lillian Turja placed 4th with the funny script called, “The 25th Annual Little Miss Mommy & Me Pageant” by Sarah Carpenter. This was their second year competing in the category of duo. 

It is a season goal to break into section finals to have a chance at state, and these students gave it all they got. Our speakers were so kind and supportive to their competitors as awards were announced by holding their hands as they found out the news. We are so proud of them.  

Dassel-Cokato has seven speakers advance to the state tournament on Friday, April 25th at Shakopee High School. 

Annalise Wheatley placed 3rd in creative expression.  She wrote and performed a speech called, “App-solutely App-alling, App-ocalypse”. 

Molly Anderson placed 3rd in great speeches. She analyzed portions of Ronan Farrow’s Commencement Speech at Dominican University of California. 

Kevin Stanely & William Wendroth took 3rd place in duo.  They perform the serious selection called “What the Voice Wants me to Do”  by Bradley Walton. This is the first year as a duo together.

Ben Pererva placed 3rd in prose. Ben interpreted a portion of the book, Standing my Ground by Harry Dunn.

Syd Roberts placed 2nd in prose.  Syd interpreted The Tell-Tale Heart by Eager Allen Poe. This is Syd’s second state appearance. 

Levi Nelson became the section 5A Champion in humor.  Levi performs the script, “Bible Camp: the Musical” by Chris & Ryan Wilkens.

As our season wraps up, we are going to miss our seniors' leadership and dedication to this activity Charlee Harris (humor), Levi Nelson (humor), Serenity Rios (prose),  Syd Roberts (prose), and Eijah Wheatley (discussion). Go Charger Speech!

Parents!

2nd alternate:

Zoey Cosby (prose)

1st alternate:

Bridget Osmondson (creative)

Advancing to the Section Tournament on Saturday, April 12th, 2025 at Annandale High School  are:

6th place:

Jillian Luhman (extemporaneous reading)

Hiltina Gottschalk (original oratory)

5th place:

Brooklyn Larson (creative)

Caylan Samuelson (discussion)

Elizabeth Andres & Mason Hawkins (duo)

Makayla Samuelson (drama)

4th place:

Riina Larson (drama)

Daniella Herrera (extemporaneous reading)

Makayla Meyer (extemporaneous speaking)

Serenity Rios (prose)

Ava Ring (storytelling)

3rd place:

Lea Ghazi (discussion)

Kevin Stanley & William Wendroth (duo)

Ben Pererva (prose)

2nd place:

Sierra Salmen (creative)

Sixtine David (extemporaneous speaking)

Ruby Moe (humorous)

Laina Halonen (poetry)

Syd Roberts (prose)

5A South Subsection Champions:

Annalise Wheatley (creative)

Elijah Wheatley (discussion)

Lillian Turja & Natalie Jones (duo)

Molly Anderson (great speeches)

Levi Nelson (humorous)

Notable Novice Honorable Mention:

Sixtine David (Improvisational Speaking)

Honorable Mention:

Caylan Samuelson (discussion) He missed merit finals by a tie break. 

Serenity Rios (prose)

Heart & Soul Worker Award:

Charlee Harris (humor)

Merit Finalists:

Lillian Turja & Natalie Jones (duo) 5th place

Jillian Luhman (extemporaneous reading) 1st place

Ruby Moe (humorous) 1st place

Elijah Wheatley (improvisational speaking) 1st place

Next-in Finalists:

Elijah Wheatley (discussion) 3rd place

Annalise Wheatley & Elijah Wheatley (duo) 3rd place

Makayla Meyer (extemporaneous speaking) 7th place

Ben Pererva (prose) 5th place

Syd Roberts (prose) 3rd place 

Finalists:

Annalise Wheatley (creative) 2nd place 

Kevin Stanley & William Wendroth (duo) 5th place

Sixtine Daivd (extemporaneous speaking) 7th place

Levi Nelson (humorous) 4th place

First Year Varsity Speechies Certificates:

Sixtine David

Emilie Konsor

Makayla Samelson

Zoey Cosby

Brooklyn Larson

Lea Ghazi

Bridget Osmondson

Hiltina Gotschalk

Daniella Herrera

Seniors Speech Certificates:

Charlee Harris

Levi Nelson

Serenity Rios

Sy Roberts

Charger Awards Winner: 

Daniella Herrera (extemporaneous reading) 

The coaches awarded this to Daniella, because of her dedication to this activity and she has been so close in breaking into finals the last few weeks. She is one of top speechies for attending the most coachings and she works hard at each practice! Daniella has helped after school in preparing for the home meet, even if she didn't have a coaching that day. We are so glad she joined our team.

Honorable Mention:

Serenity Rios (prose).  Who missed going into the next-in finals by a tie break. :(

Merit Finalists:

Daniella Herrera (extemporaneous reading) 5th place

Jillian Luhman (extemporaneous reading) 1st place

Next-in Finalists:

Lea Ghazi (discussion) 6th place

Elizabeth Andres & Mason Hawkins (duo) 4th place

Natalie Jones (info) 5th place

Ben Pererva (prose) 4th place

Finalists:

Annalise Wheatley (creative) 1st place

Riina Larson & Sierra Salmen (duo) 6th place

Lillian Turja & Natalie Jones (duo) 2nd place

Sixtine David (extemporaneous speaking) 4th place

Molly Anderson (great speeches) 3rd place

Ruby Moe (humor) 4th place

Levi Nelson (humorous) 1st place

Laina Halonen (poetry) 3rd place

Syd Roberts (prose) 1st place

Best At Site: Sixtine David, Laina Halonen, Natalie Jones/Lillian Turja, Ruby Moe, Ben Pererva, Syd Roberts, Sierra Salmen, Annalise Wheatley. 

Finalists:

Elijah Wheatley (discussion) 2nd place

Syd Roberts (Prose) 6th place

Ben Pererva (prose) 5th place

Laina Halonen (poetry) 4th place

Breaking into next-in finals were:

Ruby Moe (Humorous) 3rd place

Lillian Turja & Natalie Jones (duo) 4th place

Natalie Jones (extemporaneous reading) 6th place

Molly Anderson (great speeches) 3rd place

Annalise Wheatley (creative) 3rd place

Consolation Round:

Elijah Wheatley & Annalise Wheatley (duo) 1st place

Congratulations to the following speakers for breaking into finals: 

Consolation Finalist:

Syd Roberts (Humorous)- 7th place

Merit Finalists:

Lillian Turja & Natalie Jones (Duo)- 1st place

Ruby Moe (Humorous)- 4th place

Finalists:

Elijah Wheatley (Discussion)- 7th place

Qualifying Speechies traveled to Nebraska to compete at the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions!

Syd Roberts & Noah Pererva representing Dassel-Cokato in the category of Duo

 Our finalists were:

Freshman, Ben Pererva, placed 8th in prose. 

Sophomore, Allyson Dallmann, placed 7th in great speeches. 

Sophomore, Ruby Moe placed 7th in humor finals. 

Duo Natalie Jones and Lillian Turja placed 6th in duo.  

Annalise Wheatley placed 5th for the second year in a row in creative expression.

Sophomore, Makayla Meyer, competed in extemporaneous speaking for the first time and placed 5th. 

Levi Nelson & Elijah Wheatley competed as a duo. The duo narrowly missed advancing to the state tournament by placing 4th.  

Dassel-Cokato has two speakers advance to the state tournament on Friday, April 19th at Shakopee High School. Junior and Senior duo, Syd Roberts & Noah Pererva took 3rd place at Section 5A.  

2nd alternate:

Mason Hawkins (drama)

Kailee Vaughn (prose)

1st alternate:

William Wendroth (humorous)

Caylan Samuelson (original oratory)

Advancing to the Section Tournament on Saturday, April 13th, 2024 at Melrose High School  are:

6th place:

Emmaly Aase (drama)

Kevin Stanley & Jedi Doerr (duo)

Izzy Vaughn (original oratory)

5th place:

Allyson Dallmann (great speeches)

Laina Halonen (poetry)

4th place:

Molly Anderson (great speeches)

Ben Pererva (prose)

Mckenna Sheldon (storytelling)

3rd place:

Annalise Wheatley (creative)

Lilly Turja & Natalie Jones (duo)

Makayla Meyer (extemporaneous speaking)

Ruby Moe (humorous)

Arianna Hanson (poetry)

2nd place:

Sierra Salmen (creative)

Elijah Wheatley & Levi Nelson (duo)

5A South Subsection Champions:

Noah Pererva & Syd Roberts (duo)

Melrose Speech Tournament

March 23, 2023

39 Teams 556 Entries

We wrapped up our Invitational season at Melrose today. This was our largest tournament in Minnesota.  The team placed 6th overall, congratulations!

Notable Novice Honorable Mention:

Molly Anderson (great speeches)

Honorable Mention:

Annalise Wheatley (original oratory

Heart & Soul Worker Award:

Ben Pererva (prose)

Next-in Finalists:

Sierra Salmen (creative) 6th place 

Natalie Jones (drama)  6th place 

Laina Halonen (poetry) 3rd place 

Finalists:

Annalise Wheatley (creative) 2nd place 

Elijah Wheatley (discussion) 3rd place 

Noah Pererva & Syd Roberts (duo) 4th place 

Levi Nelson & Elijah Wheatley (duo) 1st place 

Natalie Jones & Lillian Turja (duo) 5th place

Ruby Moe (humorous) 7th place

Dassel Cokato Tournament

March 16, 2024

32 Schools 406 Entries

*** This was the largest DC tournament as long as I have been here. In 2022, we hosted 30 teams with 398 entries. It takes a village to run a tournament, thank you so much for your donations, your time, and support!

First Year Varsity Speechies Certificates:

Elizabeth Andres

Charlee Harris

Keely Harris

Mason Hawkins

Ben Pererva

Hannah Pommier

Kevin Stanley

Mckenna Sheldon

William Wendroth

Seniors Speech Certificates:

Noah Pererva

Mckenna Sheldon

Charger Awards Winner:

Arianna Hanson (poetry)

Honorable Mention:

Annalise Wheatley (creative)

Elizabeth Andres (humorous)

Next-in Finalists:

Sierra Salmen (creative) 4th place

Natalie Jones (drama) 2nd place

Allyson Dallman (great speeches) 2nd place

Finalists:

Elijah Wheatley (discussion) 2th place

Lillian Turja & Natalie Jones (duo) 6th place

Noah Pererva & Syd Roberts (duo) 5th place

Levi Nelson & Elijah Wheatley (duo) 3rd place

Molly Anderson (great speeches) 5th place

Ruby Moe (humor) 1st place

Annalise Wheatley (original oratory) 7th place

Howard Lake Waverly Winsted

The Laker Legacy

March 9, 2024

Top performers:

Sierra Salmen 6th place in creative

Jedi Doerr/Kevin Stanley 5th place in duo

Natalie Jones /Lilly Turja 3rd place in duo

Syd Roberts /Noah Pererva 1st place in duo

Izzy Densmore 5th place in ex reading

Allyson Dallmann 4 place in great speeches

Ruby Moe 1st place in humor

Elizabeth Andres 3rd place in humor

Izzy Vaughn 5th place in original oratory

Kailee Vaughn 6th place in prose

Team placed 3rd out of 12!!!! GO Charger Speech!

The Dassel-Cokato Speech Team traveled to Fridley yesterday to compete against nineteen other schools. There were 336 competitors. The Chargers were competing against other schools that they have not seen this season. It was a good challenge for the team, we placed 5th overall.

Top Honors from the Tournament Today:

Honorable Mention Baked Potato:

Allyson Dallmann (great speeches)

Laina Halonen (poetry)

Jillian Luhman (humor)

5th Place:

Elijah Wheatley (discussion)

4th Place:

Lilly Turja & Natalie Jones (duo)

3rd place:

Annalise Wheatley (original oratory)

2nd Place:

Annalise Wheatley (creative)

Noah Pererva & Syd Roberts (duo)

1st Place:

Molly Anderson (great speeches)

Ruby Moe (humor)

Elijah Wheatley & Levi Nelson (duo)

The Speech Team hosted the Wright County Conference Tournament on February 29th. Dassel-Cokato placed 4th behind Mound-Westonka (3rd), Watertown-Mayer (2nd) and Annandale (1st place). 180 students competing from ten schools for top honors in their respective categories. The top eight were recognized.

Earning Conference Honors From DC included:

8th place: Kailee Vaughn (prose)

7th place: Riina Larson & Sierra Salmen (duo)

6th place: Elizabeth Andres (humor), Lilly Turja (drama), Ben Pererva (prose)

5th place: Ruby Moe (humor)

4th place: Allyson Dallmann (great speeches)

3rd place:Annalise Wheatley (creative)

2nd place: Noah Pererva & Syd Roberts (duo), Molly Anderson (great speeches)

Conference Champions: Elijah Wheatley & Levi Nelson (duo)

Go Charger Speech

The team competed at the Maple Lake Speechball XXI tournament today. There were 23 schools with 294 entries. There were three rounds and no finals. It was fun to compete against neighboring towns. We will be matching up against these teams at upcoming meets (WCC, Home Meet & Subs). Pictures from awards are posted on the Speech Boosters Facebook Page.

As a team, we placed 4th.

Top honors for DC goes to:

Annalise Wheatley (creative) 7th place

Sierra Salmen (creative) 4th place

Elijah Wheatley (discussion) 3rd place

Elijah Wheatley & Levi Nelson (duo) 3rd place

Syd Roberts & Noah Pererva (duo) 4th place

Allyson Dallmann (great speeches) 7th place

Molly Anderson (great speeches) 6th place

Ruby Moe (humorous) 3rd place

Annalise Wheatley (original oratory) 5th place

Boston, MA

Syd Roberts & Noah Pererva- quarter finalists (18th out of 102)

February 10, 2024

Congratulations to ALL of our speechies today! We had a great day at STMA! There were 564 entries from 33 teams!  The team placed 10th overall.

Our top performances from today were:

Honorable Mentions:

Sierra Salmen (creative)

Elijah Wheatley (extemporaneous speaking)

Molly Anderson (great speeches)

Merit Finalist:

Lillian Turja (humorous) 6th place

Annalise Wheatley (original oratory) 5th place

Next In Finalist:

Allyson Dallmann (great speeches) 6th place

Ben Pererva (prose) 6th place

Allyson Dallmann (drama) 5th place

Laina Halonen (poetry) 2nd place

Elijah Wheatley & Levi Nelson (duo) 1st place

Finals:

Annalise Wheatley (creative) 6th place

Syd Roberts & Noah Pererva (duo) 3rd place

Ruby Moe (humorous) 2nd place. Ruby went 1-1-1 in prelims!

The Odyssey: Your Journey Begins Here

January 20, 2024

The Varsity Speech Team kicked off the 2024 season at Orono High School today. There were 19 schools with 505 entries competing at this fist tournament of the season. This tournament had fifty more speechies that last year. All of our speechies did a fantastic job representing Dassel-Cokato.  The first tournament is always the most challenging to get back into the swing of things, but everyone handled it with poise and grace. 

The Team Placed SECOND in the Small School Division. 

Congratulations to the following speakers for breaking into finals: 

Honorable Mention: 

Ruby Moe (Humorous)

Novice Finalists: 

Kevin Stanley & Jedi Doerr (Duo)- 4th place

Ben Pererva (Prose)- 1st place

Next-in Finalists:

Natalie Jones (Drama) - 5th place

Finalists:

Lillian Turja & Natalie Jones (Duo)- 4th place

Noah Pererva & Syd Roberts (Duo)- 1st place

Allyson Dallman (Great Speeches)- 6th place

Arianna Hanson (POI)- 5th place

Noah, Syd, Lilly, & Natalie- all earned NIETOC Bids. 

Elijah Wheatley competing in prelims  on Saturday, April 29, 2023

Night to celebrate Lucy & Evan with an escape room (which we got out) and dinner at Olive Garden.  We are going to miss these two SOO much!

MSHSL 5A Section Tournament Results!

Congratulations to the Team for their outstanding performances yesterday in New London- Spicer High School!

There were so many moments of joy through the day.

Here are the overall results!

Evan (discussion) 7th place

Noah P. (prose) 7th place

Allyson (great speeches) 6th place

Annalise (creative) 5th place

Levi (humorous) 5th place

Syd (poetry) 5th place

Molly (great speeches) 4th place

Advancing to the state tournament on Saturday, April 29th at Eastview High School.

Elijah (discussion) 1st place

The team placed 5th overall!

ItItIt was a full team effort to become Champions! Every speaker earned points for the team to win! We are so proud of you!

2nd alternate:

Lillian Turja (Creative Expression)

1st alternate:

Sierra Salmen (Creative Expression)

Advancing to the Section Tournament on Saturday, April 15th are:

6th place:

Jillian Luthman (Creative Expression)

5th place:

Natalie Jones (Drama)

Isabella Vaughn (Extemporaneous Reading)

Laina Halonen (Poetry)

4th place:

Noah Johnson (Extemporaneous Reading)

3rd place:

Evan Johnson (Discussion)

Riina Larson (Informative)

Kailee Vaughn (Storytelling)

2nd place:

Molly Anderson (Great Speeches)

Levi Nelson (Humorous)

Syd Roberts (Poetry)

5A East Subsection Champions:

Annalise Wheatley (Creative)

Elijah Wheatley (Discussion)

Makayla Meyer & Arianna Hanson (Duo)

Allyson Dallmann (Great Speeches)

Noah Pererva (Prose)

Entriesms 514 Melrose Speech Tournament

March 25, 2023

40 Teams 514 Entries

We wrapped up our Invitational season at Melrose. It was rumored that there were teams from Nebraska and Iowa competing with us as well. Dassel-Cokato finalists included:

Sierra

Dassel Cokato Tournament

March 18, 2023

27 Schools 350 Entries

First Year Speechies Certificates:

Sierra Salmen (creative/duo)

Marina Koski (duo)

Lilly Turja (creative)

Jillian Luhman (creative)

Izzy Vaughn (extemp reading)

Noah Johnson (extemp reading)

Molly Anderson (great speeches)

Allyson Dallmann (great speeches)

Remy Decker (humorous)

Riina Larson (informative)

Laina Halonen (poetry)

Kailee Vaughn (storytelling)

Seniors Speech Certificates:

Evan Johnson (discussion)

Charger Awards Winner: 

Riina Larson (informative)

Honorable Mention:

Arianna Hanson/ Makayla Meyer (duo)

Remy Decker (humorous)

Next-in Finalists:

Annalise Wheatley (creative) 4th place

Evan Johnson (discussion) 4th place

Ruby Moe (humorous) 1st place

Syd Roberts (poetry) 5th place

Finalists:

Elijah Wheatley (discussion) 5th place

Natalie Jones (drama) 3rd place

Annalise Wheatley & Elijah Wheatley (duo) 6th place 

Molly Anderson (great speeches) 7th place

Levi Nelson (humorous) 1st place

Noah Pererva (prose) 5th place

Today, Dassel-Cokato Speech Team traveled to Fridley to compete against twenty one other schools.  There were 345 competitors. The Chargers were competing against other schools that they have not seen this season. It was a good challenge for the team. It is very awesome to coach this great group of kids!

Honorable Mention Baked Potato: Natalie Jones- Drama

7th Place: Molly Anderson- Great Speeches

6th Place: Allyson Dallman- Great Speeches, Ruby Moe- Humorous

4th Place: Annalise Wheatley- Creative

2nd Place: Elijah Wheatley- Discussion, Levi Nelson- Humorous, Syd Roberts- Poetry

The team competed at the Maple Lake Speechball XX tournament today.  There were 19 schools with 235 entries. There were three rounds and no finals.  It was a fun speech meet to compete against neighboring towns. Top honors for DC goes to:  Annalise Wheatley (creative) 3rd place, Natalie Jones (drama) 7th place, Allyson Dallmann (great speeches) 8th place, Molly Anderson (great speeches) 5th place, Ruby Moe (humorous) 8th place, Levi Nelson (humorous) 6th place, Syd Roberts (poetry) 5th place, Noah Pererva (prose) 8th place.  The team placed 4th overall!  Go Charger Speech!!!

Congratulations to ALL of our speechies today! We had a great day at STMA! There were 507 entries from 32 teams!  A huge meet.  Our middle schoolers got to see what speech is like on a Saturday, see a sea of speakers talking to walls, kids in their own category, getting room assignments from a text, feedback from judges, and learn from older students . There is no ribbon that can match this experience. There were so many mini and large successes shared on the bus and so much to be proud of! Our top speakers from today were:

Annalise

Syd Roberts (poetry) 6th place. Syd went 1-1-1 in prelims!

Great Job Middle Schoolers! 

The Dassel Cokato Speech Team traveled to the Duluth Denfeld Tournament on Friday night for their tournament on Saturday, February 4th. There were 38 schools with 515 competitors.  This tournament has grown since last year.  There were 28 teams and 430 competitors in 2022.

The Chargers spoke well.

We had one Red Ribbon Winner who narrowly missed breaking into finals: Lucy Carpenter (humorous).

Finalists:

Elijah Wheatley broke into finals in discussion.  There were fifty-six speakers discussing for top honors.  This was the largest category of the tournament. Elijah placed 5th.

Breaking into next-in finals were:

Ruby Moe (Humorous) 4th place

Syd Roberts (Poetry) 7th place

Noah Pererva (Prose) 2nd place

Pererva and Roberts are competing in new categories this season.

Consolation Round:

Makayla Meyer and Arianna Hanson broke into a consolation round in duo. Duo was the second largest category with forty-three duos.  The duo placed 3rd.

This tournament gave a special recognition to seniors for their years involved in this activity. Evan Johnson and Lucy Carpenter were awarded a certificate.

Saturday, January 21, 2023

Twenty School and 460 entries

Arianna Hanson & Makayla Meyer- 3rd place novice duo

Evan Johnson- 7th place discussion  merit final

Rocori Middle School

Louisville, Kentucky

What a week! Dylan made a huge impact at Nats22!  He had six rounds with six/seven competitors in each round with two judges! His meld after the six rounds was 37! Which averages around each judge giving him a three. How cool is that? There were 256 Oratory Competitors and the first break was from 256 to 60 speakers!  A Huge break. The meld to break into the top sixty was 35! *THIRTY FIVE* Dylan was so close and we are certainly proud of the work he put into this speech and performance! Congratulation to Dylan to reaching this level of competition! Go Charger Speech!

The Section 5A Speech Tournament was held at Albany High School on Friday, April 8th.  Dassel-Cokato was moved into a different MSHSL class & section this past year.  The last season Dassel-Cokato competed in Class A was in 2011. Our speechies have been resilient this year.  They never backed down as we changed from a  2021 virtual season to a new section this year.  Due to the move, the team had an elimination subsection tournament that was held over spring break on Thursday, March 31st. The schools in this section include:  Albany, Annandale, BBE, CACGB, Eden Valley- Watkins, Foley, Hancock, Kimball, Melrose, Milaca, Minnewaska, Morris, New London-Spicer, Paynesville, Pierz, Royalton, Sauk Centre, St. Cloud Cathedral.

The Chargers had twelve speakers who advanced to the section tournament. 

 Our finalists were:

4th place: Elijah Wheatley (discussion)

4th place: Annika Soderlund (drama)

Dassel-Cokato had two competitors that just missed going to state. This was the second year in a row that Elijah Wheatley took 4th place at sections, just missing a spot at the state tournament. Elijah is a freshman and has a strong speech future ahead of him.  Senior, Annika Soderlund narrowly missed going to state on a tie break.  Annika has been a strong speaker for the Chargers and advanced to the Class AA Tournament as a junior in the category of drama. 

 Jessica Workman placed 1st in the category in prose and will be competing at the Class A Tournament on Saturday, April 23rd.  Workman took first place in all three of her preliminary rounds.  She was in a great place going into finals and held her spot to be the prose champion. It is an incredible achievement to advance to the state tournament, especially in this competitive MSHSL section. 

1st place Alternates

Makayla Meyer & Arianna Hanson (duo)

Taya Frank (prose)

Advancing to the Section 5A Tournament in Albany on Friday, April 8th

Annalise Wheatley (creative) 5th place

Elijah Wheatley (discussion) 2nd place

Annika Soderlund (drama) 1st place

Emmaly Aase (extemporaneous reading) 1st place

Reid Wilson (humor) 1st place

Noah Pererva (humor) 3rd place

Sydney Roberts (humor) 4th place

Calvin Johnson (informative) 4th place

Jessica Workman (prose) 3rd place

March 26, 2022

33 Teams 416 Entries

Team: 3rd place Medium Size Team

Heart & Soul Award: Calvin Johnson

Merit Finalists:

Noah Pererva (humorous) 5th place

Ruby Moe (humorous) 4th place

Sydney Roberts (humorous) 2nd place

Next-in Finalists:

Annalise Wheatley (creative) 6th place

Reid Wilson (humorous) 4th place

Calvin Johnson (informative) 6th place

Anika Walkes (prose) 7th place

Finalists:

Elijah Wheatley (discussion) 2nd place

Annika Soderlund (drama) 4th place

Jessica Workman (prose) 5th place

Austin Jarosz (storytelling) 5th place

March 19, 2022

30 Schools 398 Entries

First Year Speechies Certificates:

Ruby Moe

Annalise Wheatley

Makayla Meyer

Mason Linder

Arianna Hanson

Elaine Wang

Evan Johnson

Taya Frank

Natalie Jones

Seniors Speech Certificates:

Noah Jarosz

Annika Soderlund

Austyn Steinhaus

Dylan Tessmer

Conner Tuman

Reid Wilson

Jessica Workman

Charger Awards Winner: 

Evan Johnson

Honorable Mention:

Sydney Johnson

Noah Pererva

Next-in Finalists:

Annika Soderlund (drama) 1st place

Sydney Roberts (humor) 3rd place

Elaine Wang (informative) 4th place

Anika Walkes (prose) 5th place

Finalists:

Elijah Wheatley (discussion) 5th place

Conner Tuman & Noah Jarosz (duo) 5th place

Reid Wilson (humor) 3rd place

Dylan Tessmer (original oratory) 3rd place

Jessica Workman (prose) 5th place

Austin Jarosz (storytelling) 4th place

Eagan Wildcats Speech Tournament 

Next In Finals:

Elijah Wheatley (discussion) 5th place

Noah Jarosz & Conner Tuman (duo)  3rd place

Austin Jarosz (storytelling) 3rd place

Consolation Finals:

Sydney Roberts (humorous) 5th place

Dylan Tessmer & Reid Wilson competed at at Woodbury High School on Friday, March 11th for the NSDA southern qualifier. Wilson & Tessmer broke into semi finals and competed on Saturday at Eagan High School. Wilson did not break into finals in the category of humorous.  Tessmer competed in the final round and placed first in original oratory. Tessmer will be competing in Louisville Kentucky in June.  This is first time in DC history to have a qualifier to the NSDA tournament. Congratulations to both of you! 

There were 19 teams with 271 competitors.

The Team Placed 2nd in Medium Size School!

Honorable Mentions earning a Hot Baked Potato:

Calvin Johnson (Informative)

Sydney Roberts (Humorous)

Taya Frank (Prose)

Finalists:

Evan Johnson (Discussion) 6th place

Anika Walkes (Prose) 4th place

Noah Jarosz & Conner Tuman (Duo) 1st place

Dylan Tessmer (Original Oratory) 1st place

Jessica Workman (Prose) 1st place

Maple Lake Speechball Tournament

February 26, 2022

There were 17 teams with 222 competitors.  

Elijah Wheatley (Discussion) 5th place

Noah Jarosz & Conner Tuman (Duo) 2nd place

Annika Soderlund (Drama) 1st place

Reid Wilson (Humorous) 1st place

Ruby Moe (Humorous) 7th place

Elaine Wang (Informative) 7th place

Dylan Tessmer (Original Oratory) 4th place

Jessica Workman (Prose) 1st place

Anika Walkes (Prose) 3rd place

Austin Jarosz (Storytelling) 5th place

Go Charger Speech! 

10 teams and 307 competitors

Next-in Finals

Humorous- Reid Wilson- 4th

Finals

Drama- Annika Soderlund- 5th

34 schools- 442 competitors

Drama Next-in Finals- Austyn Steinhaus- 6th place

Informative Next-in Finals- Calvin Johnson 3rd place

Original Oratory Next-in Finals- Dylan Tessmer 2nd

Humorous Next-in Finals- Reid Wilson- 1st place

Duo Finals- Noah Jarosz & Conner Tuman- 2nd place

Humorous Finals- Syd Roberts- 5th place

Prose Finals- Jessica Workman- 5th place

Storytelling- Austin Jarosz- 6th place

28 schools 430 competitors and a bunch of snow flying all day long!

Discussion- Evan Johnson -Red Ribbon Winner

Informative Next-in Finals- Elaine Wang- 4th place

Original Oratory Next-in Finals- Dylan Tessmer- 1st place

Prose Finals- Anika Walkes- 7th place

Prose Finals- Jessica Workman- 3rd place

Senior Salutes to Jessica for 4 years on the speech team and Dylan for his 6 years on our speech team.