With so many club tournaments being virtual this year, it’s been hard to keep up with everyone’s success. Here are a few highlights from Speech and Debate, FBLA, DECA, TSA, and Model UN.
Speech and Debate has done very well despite the challenges of having virtual tournaments. More students than usually qualified for state this year. At the state tournament, junior Eliana Joy Volin placed fourth in Poetry, sophomore Bella Houck placed sixth in drama, and juniors KC Lynch and Grace Amine placed ninth in Duo. On Saturday, April 10, both Amine and Lynch found out they qualified for nationals, which will take place over the summer.
“I think people really rose to the challenge…and everyone was working so hard,” said Volin.
Volin was not able to go to nationals because her event is poetry, which is not a national event. Although this is unfortunate, Volin is looking forward to some new events that she will try out next year and maybe go to nationals.
“It was super cool that I placed at state. That was awesome because my first year I got 12th so I was a semifinalist, and then when I learned I was a finalist, that was super exciting,” said Volin.
Model UN had a small club size this year but still made their presence known at competitions. Liam Burnham and Owen Ervin stood out, each receiving an Award of Merit.
For the students of LHS’s TSA chapter, this year had a rocky start. Meetings at the beginning of the year had a low turnout as people were navigating the new hybrid schedule, but eventually, the team started preparing for the competition.
“It was really cool actually. People had a lot more time being remote to work on their events,” said junior Ethan Pfister.
Every member made state, and Pfister’s team placed for nationals in silent movies and on-demand. Jay Landers and Grady Redding are also going to nationals for computer coding.
DECA has also been as popular as ever with 43 students competing in the state tournament. LHS had two state champions this year with Grady Redding dominating in Business Services Marketing and Zach Long taking the win in Principles of Finance.
FBLA was a little difficult this year to get community engagement and start the season off with virtual meetings. Many students qualified for state despite these challenges and many students are going to nationals. Molly Gosling got 4th place in E-business, Caitlyn Castellion got 3rd place in Business Financial Plan, Gavin Kennedy, Jay Landers, and Rashid Mohamed Osman got 3rd place in Digital Video Production, Bella Houck and Hailey Houtsma got 2nd place in Broadcast Journalism, Grady Redding and Ethan Rogers got 2nd place in E-Business, Elle Berendt and Liam Burnham got 2nd place in Website Design, and Julia Frank got 1st place in Publication Design. They are also looking to do more fundraisers for next year.
“We have still been able to have fun as a club at virtual meetings and do very well competing at the district and state competitions,” said junior Lane Gray.
All of the clubs at LHS are looking forward to next year, which will hopefully be a little more normal.
“FBLA is so excited to finish out this competition season with great success and is looking forward to the time ahead with all of our members,” said Gray.