On Feb. 21, Elkhorn North’s speech team placed second overall at the Elkhorn North Invitational. Of the members that placed individually, sophomore Ellie Duan made the final round in three separate events, placing first in the categories of Entertainment and Informative speaking and third in the team event of Oral Interpretation of Drama (OID).
In high school competitive speaking, events are placed into two categories: platform and interpretive. Platform speaking is a student-written speech that is intended to persuade, inform, or entertain an audience based on a certain topic, while interpretive speaking is a dramatic reading of prose and poetry with strong elements of acting and performance.
Duan has participated in both styles of competitive speaking since her freshman year, displaying the immense versatility of her speaking skill set.
“She’s very well-spoken, and she can explain very complicated ideas,” junior Zen Wesselmann said. “Especially in our group (OID), we have really great chemistry and her comedic timing is always on point.”
Duan has had a very successful competition season so far, making the final round at the majority of meets she attends. Duan’s drive and achievements make her one of the top contenders going into the district meet later this month, where Duan and the team have the opportunity to qualify for the state tournament.
However, the state tournament will not be the end of Duan’s season, as she, along with teammates Wesslemann and Janani Prabagaran, has qualified for the National Speech and Debate tournament in May. With this opportunity, Duan and other members of the team will be able to compete against speakers from across the United States.
Duan has set the bar high for how much can be accomplished in competitive speaking in some of the most cuthroat categories.
“I have really seen Ellie’s confidence and leadership grow this year,” assistant speech coach Jenni Podraza said. “She knows what it takes to succeed, and she is wonderful about passing that knowledge down to our new team members this year.”
