LHS Speech Team Earns Two Medals At State Finals

LEMONT, IL — For just the second time in school history, Lemont High School’s Speech Team earned multiple medals in state finals competition, the school said. At the 2021 IHSA Speech State Finals, which were held virtually on Feb. 19-20, the school’s Performance in the Round entry earned a third place medal, while senior Nour Longi placed sixth in Radio Speaking, and sophomore Elle Jeffress made her state finals debut in Poetry Reading and tied for 11th, according to the school.

Head coach Phil Lazzari's team matched its single-season school record with its three state qualifiers, the school said. Lemont boasted three state qualifiers in 2017 and 2020, and has qualified at least one entry for state finals competition in nine of 13 seasons.

Lemont advanced to the state finals in the Performance in the Round category for the first time in school history thanks to a runner-up finish at the sectional, the school said. “I Don’t Want to Talk About It” was directed by Leslie Kane and featured senior Marie Klapacz, sophomores Daniel Irace and Toni Sarussi, and freshmen Emmie Hunnewell, Alana Nisperos, Tess O’Brien, Lukas Petraitis and Max Schuette. This category features material involving three or more students in a space where the fourth wall is removed, bringing actors into the same space as the audience.

Longi joined Reema Dhawan ‘20 (Special Occasion Speaking, 2020) and Nick Lambrakis ‘15 (Oratorical Declamation, 2014) as the only Lemont speech students to win a sectional title, the school said. In the Radio Speaking category, students make an oral presentation of a newscast after being given limited preparation time to select, cut and prepare to deliver an original five minute broadcast of news stories and a commercial. Longi, who made her state finals debut in Original Oratory in 2020, joins Lambrakis and Aubree Tally ‘13 as the only two-time state qualifiers in school history.

Jeffress placed second at the sectional with an oral interpretation Poetry Reading of “The Consequences of Womanhood," according to the school.

Lemont had finished third at the IHSA Joliet Central Regional and advanced competitors to sectional competition in 14 of 15 events. Regional champions included Performance in the Round and senior Lauren Rearden (Humorous Interpretation), while Longi (Original Oratory, Radio Speaking), senior Makenzie Michaelson (Prose Reading) and junior Tarika Oberai (Informative Speaking) all posted runner-up finishes in regional competition, according to the school.

Lazzari’s team won its 12th straight South Suburban Conference-Blue Division title this season, with Longi repeating as the SSC champion in Radio Speaking.