Iola High School’s forensics team has had an active season with several earning top places in their respective competitive speaking and acting pieces.
Saturday’s competition was the team’s most successful venture yet, with Iola taking first place in the team sweeps, buoyed by seven individual champions.
Max Andersen was a two-time champion. He was winner in the oral interpretation of prose, followed by Madelyn Ashworth in fifth and Stephanie Fees in sixth. Andersen also claimed gold in program of oral interpretation, followed by Bella Rahming in third and Ben Heiman in fifth
Meanwhile, Demarco Ross and Kaeden Vega took first place in duet acting, followed by Everett Glaze and Cole Moyer in second.
Moyer also teamed up with Vega to win the improvised duet acting competition, followed by Lily Lohman and Rahming in sixth.
Demarco Ross was tops in oral interpretation of poetry, as was Bethany Miller in informative speaking. Miller also took second in impromptu speaking.
Others with top-six finishes:
— Glaze, second, serious solo acting
— Sarah Ross and Heiman in third and Fees and Marlee Westhoff sixth in duo interpretation
ON FEB. 22, Iola split its forces, and still managed to take second as a team in both Independence and Paola.
At Independence, Rahming took first in a program of oral interpretation, as did Layla Newkirk and Alyssa Williams in duet acting.
Other top finishes:
— Newkirk, third in oral interpretation of prose
— Sarah Ross, fourth in oral interpretation of poetry
— Glaze, second in humorous solo acting
— Newkirk fourth and Glaze fifth in serious solo acting
