There were 17 area teens who had plenty to say this weekend during the Illinois High School Association speech state finals in Peoria.
Nine students representing Neuqua Valley, six students representing Metea Valley and two students representing Naperville Central speech teams advanced to the annual event that brings more than 500 of the state’s top orators together to compete at the Peoria Civic Center.
“We were super excited to get through to state after being in a sectional that includes some really strong schools,” Neuqua Valley speech coach Hemant Mehta said. “(The fact that Metea and Central students qualified for state) also says something about the friendly competition we have around here; we see some of the best kids from the state every week during our regular season.”
According to Carol Carr of the Illinois High School Association, 542 students representing 86 schools from across the state competed in 14 categories. After two preliminary rounds, Neuqua Valley advanced to the final round in six categories, while Metea Valley advanced in one category.
“Advancing to state was very exciting for me and my teammates,” Neuqua senior and team co-captain Sruthi Rameshkumar said. “For a lot of us, it was our first time achieving this goal.”
Rameshkumar said many have a “speech bucket list with all our speech goals,” and competing at state “was definitely at the top of that list.”
“After working for years to achieve this goal, qualifying was definitely a moment of pride and a journey to achieving milestones in our speech careers,” she said.
Mehta shared the sentiment.
“I’m so proud of this team for what they accomplished,” Mehta said. “Every piece that made it to the final round of the tournament was the result of lots of collaboration with team members, whether they were adding jokes, providing constructive criticism or just offering moral support.”
About 40 members of the Wildcat team made the trek to Peoria in support of the nine students who were competing, which Mehta said is a credit to Neuqua’s administration and the culture they’ve created.
“Not every school allows it, and it shows in the results,” Mehta said. “We always stress to the students that our success depends not just on the people performing, but also the culture we create. I think every performer will tell you how vital it was to see a group of Neuqua kids greeting them in every round.”
Metea Valley coach Mark Simon agreed, saying that 16 Mustang teammates were in Peoria in support of their six finalists.
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“It has been like this all season; we have come to expect it because they genuinely and expressively enjoy each other’s company and support each other unconditionally,” Simon said. “They compete against one another all season in their categories, but come crunch time, they laugh with each other, cry with one another, and celebrate our success as a team and as a family.”
Metea’s team finished in 27th place, with student James Ewer earning fourth place in state in the Special Occasion Speaking category.
Neuqua earned fifth place as a team after Zach Honer placed second, Alex Shura placed third, Quinn Brewer and Dillon Tartaglia placed fourth, Sruthi Rameshkumar placed fifth, Akshay Ravi placed seventh, and Dillon Tartaglia and Megan Swindle placed seventh in their categories.
“Our team has built a tradition of finishing in the top 10 at the Illinois High School Association state speech competition through the countless hours of preparation, critique, and performance our students and coaches put in all year long,” said Bob McBride, Neuqua Valley principal. “We have an amazing system of support between students who critique and coach each other as well within our parent community who champion their students’ participation in speech. I am proud that words and presenting them matter to the speech team and to our school.”
While Central was not ranked in the team category, students Eliza Perchanok and Tori Wu represented the Redhawks in Peoria.
“I’m very proud of these girls, as well as the whole team for this entire season,” Central coach Jeremy Lin said. “These two have worked very hard; they’ve made such a big impact on the team, not just as competitors, but as teammates.”
Other schools finishing in the top five include Mt. Prospect in first, Wheaton Warrenville South in second, Wheaton North in third and Oak Lawn Community in fourth.
Neuqua Valley results:
Zach Honer – Original Comedy – second place
Alex Shura – Extemporaneous Speaking – third place
Quinn Brewer and Dillon Tartaglia – Humorous Duet Acting – fourth place
Sruthi Rameshkumar – Prose Reading – fifth place
Akshay Ravi – Original Oratory – seventh place
Dillon Tartaglia and Megan Swindle – Dramatic Duet Acting – seventh place
Archit Dhar – Informative Speaking – seventh place
Monika Martinek – Humorous Interpretation – 11th place
Metea Valley High School results:
James Ewer – Special Ocassion Speaking – fourth place
Ashvini Kartik-Natayan – Oratory – seventh place
Stephanie Sorich and Jason Snyder – Humorous Duet Acting – ninth place
Shivansh Padhy – Informative Speaking – 11th place
Julia Howell – Oratorical Declamation – 12th place
Naperville Central High School results:
Tori Wu – Impromptu Speaking – seventh place
Eliza Perchanok – Humurous Interpretation – 16th place
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Jane Donahue is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.