Two Owatonna Students Qualify for State Speech Meet

Owatonna High School's Ava Stockwell and Sheldon Jensen have qualified for the state speech meet Saturday, April 16, at Lakeville North High School.

Sections were April 7 at Northfield. Stockwell and Jensen each qualified in the "Great Speeches" division, according to the Minnesota State High School League website. Stockwell will present Perils of Indifference by Elie Wiesel at the state meet. The speech is by a Holocaust survivor and originally was delivered at the White House in 1999. Jensen's speech is the Address to the Nation After 9/11 by President George W. Bush.

The Owatonna speech team is coached by Lauren Gendron.

The schedule for the state contest at Lakeville North for Class AA begins at 10:15AM on Saturday, April 16. Subsequent rounds start at 11:45AM and 1:15PM, with the championship round at 3:30PM. An awards ceremony follows at 5:30PM. The Class A event is Friday, April 15.

Categories include Creative Expression, Discussion, Duo Interpretation, Extemporaneous Reading, Extemporaneous Speaking, Great Speeches, Humorous Interpretation, Informative Speaking, Original Story, Serious Interpretation in drama, poetry and prose and Storytelling. There is no admission charge to attend the state contest.