I will make a new post shortly regarding the fall at nationals I took and the prognosis of the injuries. Still waiting on Xray results.
First of all, a number of you were aware of the drama amongst some of our Public Forum teams. I want you to know that in true Roosevelt TEAM fashion, the moment the tournament started, drama ended and everyone worked together for everyone else's best interests. The net result was that all three PF teams cleared elims and went into the double elimination tournament. Madi and Samantha made round 8, Becky and Caroline round 10 and Nathan and Kayleigh, round 11. This is amazing that 3 teams from one school could do so well. The net result of their efforts was a SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE AWARD IN DEBATE...our second in my era (first one at the 2008 nationals in Vegas). A School of Excellence Award is meant to by symbolic of a top ten finish for the school in the tournament. There were actually 18 of them this season-more than usual-and two other Iowa schools won them as well: Iowa City West and Dowling.
Lily Nellans finished an amazing third in the International Extemp field. While she was disappointed with that result, she had an incredible season by any measure and one of the most successful runs in extemp in history-particularly for a female. No one outside of our team wants to face her next season.
There just aren't enough words to express how great of a season she just completed. And she will do nothing but get stronger!
But perhaps the biggest news to share is that ALL of our nine students advanced in the tournament beyond prelims in some event. I have never been part of a team that did this well at nationals. Katy Roat got extra rounds in prose, Murphy Brown in Poetry, Samantha Gerleman had a huge supplemental debate run, etc. Not a single Roosevelt student failed to produce beyond prelims. I am so thrilled with that outcome! Had we gotten more speech entries through qualifier, we could have had a national championship run!
So a long and challenging season finally comes to an end on a big time high note. It has been a pleasure to coach so many talented and dedicated kids! Congratulations to each and everyone of you on a fantastic season!
