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Two Luverne High School speech students received individual medals Saturday after reaching the final rounds at the Class A Minnesota State High School League state tournament in Apple Valley.
Senior Chance Tunnissen placed third in extemporaneous speaking and teammate junior Parker Carbonneau placed sixth, also in extemporaneous speaking.
Tunnissen is a four-time state speech tournament participant. For Carbonneau, this is his second appearance.
“Every year I’ve been able to inch up just a little bit further, and that’s going to be my approach this year,” Tunnissen said.
“My goal is to make it through the first three rounds and get into the final one more time. From there I just want to give a good speech and hopefully end up a little further than last time.”
Last year Tunnissen finished seventh after missing the finals at the other two appearances. Carbonneau reached the state finals for the first time Saturday.
The students were among seven from LHS who earned a top-three finish at the April 9 section tournament. They were among the top 24 Class A students in each of the 13 speech categories.
Other LHS students who competed Saturday were seniors Burke Johnson (discussion, finishing 19th), Mia Wenzel (poetry, 16th), Luke Thorson (humorous, ninth), Rylee Anderson (great speeches, 11th) and eighth-grader Zander Carbonneau (extemporaneous speaking, 11th).
“All other of our speakers did well, too, despite not making the finals,” said coach Caroline Thorson. “This is tough competition at the state level. It was a phenomenal finish for them all.”
At Thursday’s pep fest in the performing arts center, Thorson and fellow coach Gavin Folkestad shared the stage with the seven state qualifiers, the largest number of state qualifiers LHS has had in the past decade.
Folkestad recognized three other speech students who competed in the final rounds at sections but missed placing in the top three — Brianna Kinsinger, Roselynn Hartshorn and Jessika Tunnissen.
“If they didn’t make it into the final round and placed one spot lower than they did, we would not have been repeat section champions,” he said. “A lot of credit goes to them as well.”
Luverne won the Section 3A crown by one point over Windom.
He commended the state participants, some who have been in speech since the seventh grade, on their dedication to the program,
The last three speech seasons have been chaotic with the 2020 season canceled in March, the 2021 season virtual, and 2022 a transition back to in-person.
“That is just a lot of self-determination and self-discipline, a lot of grit, a lot of perseverance even when they were involved early on in their careers to stick with it, and they certainly earned their spots up on the stage here today,” Folkestad said.
Seniors earn all-state speech status
Coach Folkestad announced Thursday that all five of the LHS team’s seniors earned all-state speech team status from the Minnesota Speech Coaches’ Association.
Chance Tunnissen, Luke Thorson, Mia Wenzel, Rylee Anderson and Burke Johnson were nominated for the honor by coaches Folkestad and Thorson.
Each speaker met certain qualifications over several years for the annual recognition.
Folkestad reflected on the caliber of students selected on this year’s all-state team in a written message from MSCA President Ross Eichele Eagan.
“Making it through all of that (the last three years) and still making the all-state criteria is a testament to their grit and their determination,” Folkestad read.