Harvard finals sees Spuds for first time

Post date: Feb 23, 2017 11:26:43 PM

Entering their fourth year traveling to Boston for the annual Harvard tournament, the Spuds were still in search of their first finalist.

By Monday morning, two speakers had accomplished that feat.

Senior Devon Solwold (Drama) and junior Izzy Larson (POI) both performed in finals, outlasting some of the strongest competition in the nation. In all, Solwold finished sixth out of 217 total entries in Dramatic Interpretation; Larson placed third out of 164 speakers in Program Oral Interpretation.

Overall, 13 Spud speakers made the trek and were greeted with much warmer weather than in previous trips. Last year, Boston was in the midst of a record cold snap; two years ago, a massive snowstorm paralyzed the town and abbreviated the tournament.

This year, in addition to the two finalists, Moorhead also sent several speakers past preliminary rounds, including Octa-finalists Bridget McManamon (Extemp. Speaking), Jessica Anderson (Oratory), Alex Church (Oratory), Ariana Grollman (Oratory), Skyler Klostriech (Humor), Solwold and Larson (Duo); Quarterfinalists Noel Kangas (Drama), Jessica Anderson (Drama); and Semifinalist Ariana Grollman (Humor).

Meanwhile, the remainder of the team traveled to Apple Valley for the StarTribune Eastview Lightning Classic, placing 5th overall. Highlights include senior Carolyn Solberg (Great Speeches) earning her second individual championship of the season (Marshall) and sophomore Alyssa Haagenson taking 3rd in Storytelling, her best finish of the year so far.

A full list of results for both tournaments can be found on our "Tournament Schedule/Results" page.

The Spuds now take a week off before returning to competition next weekend as the team will travel to Lakeville and Walker. Those, coupled with a small team trip to Eagan the following weekend, comprise the final regular season tournaments before the NSDA Northern Lights Qualifier tournament in Brainerd beginning March 17.