La Porte Headed To Nationals

MISSOURI CITY, TEXAS - La Porte Speech and Debate members Brittany Ellenberg and Jack Swearingen qualified for the National Forensics League National Championships this past weekend with their stellar performances in LD Debate at the NFL District Tournament.

The District Tournament matched students from all over the Houston area in various Speech and Debate events. Students competed round by round and were eliminated after just two losses. Ellenberg qualified by going undefeated for the entire three day weekend, while Swearingen had just one loss. The La Porte students took two of just three available qualifying spots. Swearingen and Ellenberg will now compete in June in Las Vegas, Nevada for the National Championship.

Other students fared well this past weekend as well, including Jonathan Machemehl, who was not eliminated in LD Debate until the final ten students in the tournament. Also the team of KarolynPower and Lolie Martha lasted through to the final eleven students in Public Forum debate. This caps an unbelievable year for the Speech and Debate team, one which included a major variety of local, state, and national wins by many students.

Abbott, Bethancourt Qualify For Regionals

DEER PARK, TX - Last weekend, Seniors Tim Abbott and Chelsea Bethancourt qualified for UIL Regionals with outstanding performances at the UIL District tournament.

Both students competed in LD Debate and Extemporaneous Speaking. Neither students was able to qualify in LD earlier in the week, although Abbott reached the quarterfinal round. However, both qualified on Saturday in Extemp.

These two students will compete April 12 at Alief Taylor High School for a chance to make it to the UIL State Tournament. Good luck to both.

WHAT A WEEKEND!!!

NEEDVILLE, TX - The La Porte High School Speech & Debate Team had an incredible weekend this past Friday and Saturday, competing at the Needville High School UIL Invitational Tournament.

The team scored its first ever First Place Overall Speech Championship, defeating 27 other schools to win the honor. The team took 14 kids to the tournament, much less than most other teams competing there, but did well enough to still take home top honors.

The team was lead by several outstanding individual performances. Junior, Molly Duncan, took First Place in Storytelling, while Junior, Jack Swearingen, took First Place in Extemporaneous Speaking. Seniors John Lawler and Chelsea Bethancourt
swept LD Debate, taking home First and Second Place, respectively.

The Saturday portion of the tournament began with huge news for the team coming from the National Office of the National Forensics League. In partnership with The Princeton Review and the movie, The Great Debaters, starting Denzel Washington, the NFL sponsored a nationwide video debate contest. Teams of two from all over the country submitted four-minute videos on one of three selected topics.

The NFL announced that La Porte’s team of Juniors, Molly Duncan and Crystal Shivers were selected as one of just four National Finalists. For the honor, the girls won a one-year membership to Blockbuster Video, a $100 gift certificate to Steve & Barry’s, an autographed poster of the movie, and a library of books from The Princeton Review.

The girls must now submit a six-minute video on a new topic for consideration. If selected as National Champion, the team will receive a full preparatory course for any test the Princeton Review covers as well as two airline tickets to anywhere JetBlue airlines flies in the continental United States.

Congratulations to all members of the team for their help in this historic weekend.

District Teams Named...Race To Vegas Is On

LA PORTE, TX - The 2008 District Championship Teams have been announced and all participating CoST students are ready for action.

Starting in February, CoST moves into Championship Season as the team attempts to move onto Regional, State, and National Championships. Already, two students have qualified for the TFA State Championships, as Brittany Ellenberg will be competing in Domestic Extemp and Jonathan Machemehl will be competing in Student Congress.

However, many other students are preparing to go for the gold as the UIL and NFL District tournaments approach. Here's the official list of the 2008 CoST District Teams: (Click To Enlarge)

Championship Season Nears

LA PORTE, TX - The championship season for CoST is just around the corner, as the NFL and UIL District teams will be announced soon.

The El Campo HS Tournament marks the end of the practice season, and district teams will be finalized shortly thereafter.

This year, the team will have the most slots available to them ever at NFL District, with 13. They will also have 6 slots available at District Student Congress, as well as the usual 3 slots per event at UIL District. Keep checking for updates and a final posting of the District teams.

CoST Wins Big In Columbia

COLUMBIA, TX - CoST headed to Columbia HS this past weekend with the largest squad its ever fielded and took home an assortment of trophies.

With 16 kids competing throughout the day, the team had one of its most successful tournaments ever, taking 3rd place in Overall Sweepstakes. Always facing teams that greatly outnumber them, the La Porte team performed extra well to earn the honor.

Columbia was a time to shine for many newcomers to the program. Kaitlan Hawkins and Jessica Pierson-Turner competed in their very first tournament ever and took home championships in Poetry and Extemp Speaking, respectively. First year competitor, John Lawler, added to the trophy bonanza by taking home the championship in LD Debate and a 3rd place in Extemp Speaking.

Veteran team members were not to be outdone, however. Amanda Shaw and Jonathan Machemehl stepped out of their usual Speech and Debate events and entered into the world of Interpretation events. Lucky for the team they did, as both made finals in their Interp events, with Shaw taking 3rd place in Poetry.

Coach CJ Odam was glad to have an old friend of the program return for the weekend as Penni Anderson helped chaperone and spur the students to victory.

The team now turns its attention to the Spring, as January sees trips to Katy and El Campo before heading into District competitions for the National Forensics League and the UIL.

Columbia Results

(Click To Enlarge)