Roberts' 5th Place Finish Highlights Rock Creek's Trip to Nationals
May 29, 2009
On May 23 and 24 the Rock Creek
Debate and Forensics Students competed in a national speech
competition in Albany, New York. Nine students from Rock
Creek participated, including Torrey Peterson and Sam Cott in
Policy Debate, Ben Peterson and Mandi Blenn in Policy Debate, Jeran
Fry and Brenda Stevenson in Lincoln/Douglas Debate, Nolan Fike and
Morgan Eichman in Duo Interpretation (basically, duet acting), and
TJ Roberts in OIL (Oral Interpretation of Literature).
While all the students did fairly well, one
student stands out. TJ Roberts became the first Rock Creek
student ever to make the final round at the national tournament,
bringing home 5th place. TJ beat hundreds of students from
across the country. His event, OIL, combines the two events
TJ won at the state tournament in Wichita; poetry and prose.
In OIL, the students alternate between the two. Round one TJ
did poetry, round two he did prose, and so on. TJ made it
through eight rounds of competition to earn his trophy.
“The students were so excited for TJ.
They were bouncing off the walls” said Coach Keith Miller.
“It was a really fun trip. The students were wonderful to
travel with. They were positive, helpful, and
considerate. I couldn’t ask for a better group of
students. Plus, we learned so much from watching the other
competitors, and we came home with over 40 titles of pieces to get
for next year.”
The tournament, known by the abbreviation
CFL, for Catholic Forensics League, started in 1951. This
year was the largest national tournament ever. Although it is
run by Catholic Schools and is associated with the Catholic Church,
one does not have to be Catholic to participate. Next year’s
national tournament will be held in Omaha, Nebraska.
