Lennox student qualifies for National Tournament: State set for March 6

This past weekend, Senior Emersen Lee qualified for the National Speech and Debate Tournament in International Extemporaneous Speaking. 

The team started competition on Friday, Feb. 20 in Brandon Valley and completed on Saturday night, Feb. 21 at Sioux Falls Jefferson. 

After four rounds of competition, Emersen finished in third place and was the first alternate. One of the competitors just in front of her qualified in a different event, making Emersen the official national qualifier. The National Tournament will be taking place this summer in Richmond, Virginia. 

Several other students had strong performances for Lennox. 

Madix Oltmanns was a finalist in domestic extemporaneous speaking and is the third alternate to Nationals. 

Other strong performers included Gavin Swier, Allison Shultz, Maddigan Van Sickle, Noah Sitter, Zach Boysen, and Darek Krohn. 

The team hopes to continue the improvements from this weekend as they head into the final two competitions of the season. The team next competes at State on Mar. 6 and 7 in Aberdeen, SD and then Mar.  13 for the National qualifier for student congress and for Big Question debate.