LHS forensics has big opening weekend

Members of the Louisburg High School forensics team pose with their first place trophy and medals from the Neodesha Tournament on Saturday after the Wildcats won the sweepstakes title. Louisburg competed in three tournaments on the day and came away with several medals.

The Louisburg High School forensics team kicked off its season in grand fashion as the Wildcats made a strong statement.

Louisburg competed in three different tournaments Saturday, and when all was said and done, racked up several honors. The Wildcats earned a sweepstakes title, qualified 13 entries into the state tournament and finished with 38 medalists.

“I am very pleased,” Louisburg coach Brian Weilert said. “We had a lot of newcomers this year to go along with a strong returning core, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Although we have a lot of work ahead of us, this was a great start to the year. Many schools will struggle to fill a full 16-entry state team by the end of the season and to have 13 in the first weekend is a great start.

“This team is really talented, but as a bit of a Gumpism, ‘talented is as talented does.’ In other words, we need to bring the work pail each week and improve.”

The Wildcats shined at the Neodesha Tournament as they won the sweepstakes title and every competitor reached the finals in at least one of their two events. Competitors earn state bids if they finish in the top two of an event.

Emily Ventre had a strong tournament as she was crowned champion in Serious Solo Acting and later finished runner-up in Prose. Ventre qualified for state in both events.

Andrea Leach won the tournament crown in Poetry, and Abigail Bergman won the title in Prose. Jonathon Ventre also earned a state bid as he medaled second in Poetry, just behind Leach.

Louisburg continued its strong performance at the Gardner-Edgerton tournament. The Wildcats added four more champions and seven state qualifiers to go along with a third-place team finish.

Rio Sierra had a big day as she won gold in both Serious Solo Acting and Prose. Kallee Bartlett and Lexie Hubbard teamed up to win the Duet title and Chloe Philgreen won gold in Humorous Solo Acting.

Stephanie Rose also qualified for state as she was runner up in both Serious Solo Acting and Poetry, while Eddie Murphy and Brooke Talmage finished second in the Duet competition.

The Wildcats also competed in a tournament at St. Thomas Aquinas. Kyle Green earned straight 1’s in the finals to win the Humorous Solo Acting title and a spot in the state tournament.