Speech team sends two downstate

Last Saturday, senior Emmanuel Reid (first trip) and  junior Justin Fekete (second trip) advanced to the state finals in the IHSA Individual Speech Tournament. In only its second year of existence the team has opened the history books and started to write the next chapter in speech history.

Following a strong regular season, the speech team set their eyes on the regional competition and sent their best men in each category. The regional team consisted of Joe Ferrill ’16 and Brendan Kelly ’16 (Dramatic Duet Acting), Aiden Varela ’18 (Dramatic Interpretation), Luke Ehrenstrom ’18 (Extemporaneous Speaking), Dom Antonietti ’17 and Zac Styka ’18 (Humorous Duet Acting), Zac Styka (Special Occasion Speaking), Emmanuel Reid’16 (Poetry Reading and Oratorical Declamation), Patrick McKay ’18 (Humorous Interpretation), Justin Fekete ’17 (Impromptu Speaking), Farouk Kudaisi ’17 (Informative Speaking), Reggie Williams ’18 (Original Comedy), and Nnamdi Okabuonye ’16 (Radio Speaking).

At the regional tournament, the team placed fifth in one of the hardest fields in the state, according to Coach Dennis Brumirski. In order to move on to the sectional tournament competitors must place in the top four after the final round. Mount Carmel’s team moved on in seven  different categories.

Styka, Varela, Reid, Fekete, Antonietti, and Ehrenstrom all advanced to sectionals in their respective categories. However, more history was made when Reid placed first in the Oratorical Declamation category, the first Mount Carmel speech competitor to place first in a regional tournament.

The sectional tournament was a new challenge for the competitors as three regionals combine into one sectional, with only the top three from each category moving onto the state final. Also competitors went in front of professional judges, as opposed to the regular season where judges are speech coaches from various teams.

Although the pressure of the tournament was high, Brumirski continues to tell his guys to be calm and collected. “Here we always try to win, but it’s not the end of the world if we don’t. Speech teaches these guys so many other life skills that they can take with them following high school.”

With the season coming close to the end, Brumirski can look back and see what he has developed, ” We have a team that is very diverse. We have jocks, valedictorians, and (all types of) kids all working together, and they have each other’s backs, just as any other sport.”

For the future, the team’s diversity and success look to continue. The Mount Carmel regional team featured several underclassman and many other underclassman who competed during the regular season.

The Mount Carmel speech team will look to put the finishing touches on this year’s historic chapter this weekend in Peoria.