Speech team wins 2 categories at regionals

Speech team wins 2 categories at regionals

The MCHS speech team went to regionals at Reed-Custer High School on Feb. 4 and had a lot of success in their divisions. 

Junior Bailey McIntyre, senior Thomas Johanneson, senior Alex Polizzi, junior Mikayla Morrison, senior Alexis Williams and senior Angelina Gutierez all competed for Minooka

“I chose to speak about Pride and Prejudice, the Disney Pixar movie Soul, and my own personal experience with band,” said Angelina Gutierrez, senior who competed in Impromptu Speaking.

“So we’re standing on stage, people start getting called off, and here I say to myself ‘“Okay, I did great, at least I made it to sectionals,” Guiterrez said. “Then it comes down to just me and another competitor, we do the handshake, and then in that moment, they called the competitor’s name and my jaw, dropped,” Gutierrez, senior, said. 

She ultimately won the impromptu category. 

Morrison and Williams also finished first in dramatic duet acting. 

“So this being my fourth year in speech and me being the speech team captain, me and her (Mikayla Morrison) thought we were going to do pretty well, but it was the same problem of not knowing if we were going to rank that high considering the other competitors,” Williams, senior, said. 

Williams also finished fourth in Dramatic Interpretation, while Morrison was third in Oratorical Declamation. 

Johanneson had mixed feelings about his performance. 

“I did not do very well, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out,” he said. “I’m happy that my teammates pushed me out of my comfort zone.” 

“T.J. and I were the only ones to not get into the finals, but it’s all good,” Alex Polizzi, senior, said. “Shortly after I went to go see Bailey’s Info about Moses Fleetwood Walker, and it was really really good, and I was surprised it didn’t end up placing for sectionals, but it was still really good and I’m proud of her.” 

McIntyre elaborated on her performance in Informative Speaking. 

“So at regionals, I did Info, which is basically you pick a topic and then you talk about it for 3 minutes. So I did a speech on Moses Fleetwood Walker, who was the first African American baseball player, and I did not do very well,” McIntyre said.

Sectionals for speech team members is at Morris High School on Feb. 11.