In room 140, the chairs are pushed up against the walls making the middle of the room seem like a stage. As the students practice, the sounds of their voices are bouncing off the walls and filling the room, emphasizing the hard work put into crafting their speeches.

This is the scene of five students from La Salle’s Speech and Debate team, plus one alternate, as they prepare to compete at the OSAA Speech State Championship at Western Oregon University this Thursday through Saturday.

The team is led by head coach and history teacher Michael Doran and assistant coach Steve Root. Currently in their seventh year of competition, the team has sent students to the state tournament every year.

Many students may think that Speech and Debate is just about delivering speeches and debating on diverse topics. In fact, there are actually many different categories in which students can compete.

Students participate in After Dinner Speaking, Dramatic Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Expository Speaking, Impromptu Speaking, Original Oratory, Parliamentary Debate, Radio Commentary, and Extemporaneous Speaking.

Reflecting on their successful season, Mr. Doran says, “We qualified five students to the [state championship] in eight different events. Alexis Han has distinguished herself by qualifying for three events at state, which is the maximum number of events a competitor can do at state.”

The team attended a total of nine tournaments this year. “We have had students make the final round at every tournament,” Mr. Doran said. “We had a record 19 students go to the McMinnville Tournament in January, so our team is the biggest it has ever been at La Salle.”

Mr. Doran has been coaching the team for all seven years. “I admire students who voluntarily give up their free time to prepare for tournaments and who give up their Saturdays throughout the school year to attend tournaments,” he said. “It is an academic competition, and students who attend tournaments really love this fact and thrive in this environment.”

Below are the following students who are advancing to the OSAA Speech State Championships:

• Alexis Han in After Dinner Speaking
• Eric Nguyen in Dramatic Interpretation
• Alexis Han & Eric Nguyen in Duo Interpretation
• Grace Elkhal in Expository Speaking
• Derek Wong in Impromptu Speaking
• Grace Elkhal in Original Oratory
• Alexis Han & Derek Wong with an impressive 4-1 Record in Parliamentary Debate
• Madisen Haugen in Radio Commentary

First alternates to the state tournament are:

• Olivia Cooley & Grace Elkhal in Parliamentary Debate
• Derek Wong in Extemporaneous Speaking

“It is an honor to work with these students. They are leaders in our school community who represent a strong work ethic, who show a willingness to take risks, and who persevere in the face of challenging situations,” Mr. Doran says. 

See below for the students’ perspectives on competing at the OSAA tournament:

“I am really excited to be competing against tough competition because making it to state has already been an achievement for me and I think that getting prepared to compete with the best of the best prepares me on how I want to present in my classes. [Also] learning specific skills that I may want to implement next year into my season [to] just better myself, and see different styles and types and topics and kind of learn from my competition.”

-Grace Elkhal, sophomore

“I’m really looking forward to having fun and just meeting new people. At [tournaments] you get to meet everybody from Oregon in one space, so that’s unique to Speech and Debate. I do speeches and my events are called interpretive events, so it’s like a one-man band sort of deal.”

-Eric Nguyen, senior

“I’m doing a new event that’s called After Dinner Speaking this year, which is a funny speech that’s going to be more entertaining and hopefully less nerve-racking. Usually I do more serious stuff, so this will be new for me and I’m looking forward to it.”

-Alexis Han, senior

“I’m looking forward to spending time with my teammates sitting around and chatting, [especially] while playing cards. I honestly couldn’t say a bad word about Mr. Doran as a teacher. I think his overwhelming enthusiasm is really nice and the fact that he cares about what he’s teaching.”

-Derek Wong, senior

“I’m just really excited to see and hear all the pieces that people have. You get to see and experience a lot of different things other people don’t get to do by being a part of Speech and Debate.”

-Madisen Haugen, sophomore

Good luck to the team as they head off to the state championships at Western Oregon University this Thursday through Saturday!