PACT Speech Heads to State

 

By Christine Erntson and Christal Ruppert
April 20, 2022 | 2 p.m.

 

 

After second-place finishes at the speech 4A section tournament, four of PACT’s speech students are headed to the MSHSL State Tournament this weekend.

Carter Binsfeld ‘22 finished the season as one of the team’s top competitors, with three first-place medals and three second-place medals. While he spent much of the season double-entered in Duo with Lucas Saburn ‘22, Binsfeld has competed individually for the last three years in creative expression, a category in which the speaker writes and performs his or her own interpretive piece. The freedom of this category has allowed Binsfeld to create, in the words of one invitational judge, “whimsical and madcap” worlds, including the one he will be taking to the state level. 

After double-entering for part of the season in poetry, Emma Ellison ‘22 will be competing in her longest-standing category of extemporaneous reading at the state tournament. This is Ellison’s third year competing in Extemporaneous Reading, a draw category in which one randomly selects a different story to perform each round. The spontaneous nature of this event has allowed Ellison to demonstrate her flexibility and analytical prowess. 

Her third year in speech and in the category of Serious Prose, Lucia Kerkes ‘23 has had her share of championship finishes this season, including the Staples-Motley tournament, where she helped the team to a first-place team finish. Kerkes’s leadership has been an integral part of the team’s success all season; Kerkes has spent countless hours working on her own piece, in addition to helping at practices and organizing team events. 

Olivia Bailey ‘23 is returning to state for the second consecutive year in her fourth year on the team. Similar in nature to extemporaneous reading, Bailey’s category of Storytelling allows her to showcase her impressive improvisation skills and sense of humor. These skills have entertained judges and teammates alike; Bailey’s hard work and good humor have raised the bar for the entire team as she has encouraged and assisted teammates during the season and even in the off-season. 

The state tournament will be held at Eastview High School in Apple Valley on Saturday, April 23. Follow the team and results on the PACT Speech Facebook page