Vikings 2nd at own speech meet

Lipinski places in three different categories; Walerius places in two

Emma Lipinski was a triple threat on Saturday at the Minneota Virtual Live Speech Meet, finishing first, fourth and fifth in three categories.
Minneota finished second among the 10 teams competing.
Lipinski, a junior, placed first in Great Speeches, fourth in Duo (with Katie Walerius) and fifth in Prose.
Walerius, the only senior on the team, earned Minneota's other first place finish, this one in Original Oratory.
Joe Voit placed third in Extemporaneous Speaking, while Joey Clark was third in Storytelling.
Wyatt Pohlen was fourth in Discussion, Cora Fischer fifth in Great Speeches, and Trista Bierschenk fifth in Discussion.
Lipinski's speech this year for Great Speeches centers on Sting's 1994 Commencement Address at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
"It’s not your typical speech or speaker you see in Great Speeches, which I think really interests people," Lipinski said. "In his speech, Sting shares his passion for music and how his love for music evolved. He had access to music education as his mother played piano and his uncle played guitar. In my analysis, I point out the relevance and greatness of his speech by connecting it to the lack of art education in schools today."
Walerius received her fourth first-place finish this year in Original Oratory.
"I write my own persuasive speech," said Walerius. "My goal is to convince my listeners to think or feel a certain way while using credible sources. This year, I wrote my speech about diet culture and the negative aspects it brings."
Lipinski and Walerius teamed up in Duo for the first time this season and placed fourth their home meet this past weekend.
"Emma and I have had our duo picked out all season, but our main focus was on our individual categories," Walerius explained. "We practiced a few times but did not compete until this weekend. We decided to compete with it because it was the last regular meet of the season, so it was the last one we could use it for."
The Duo piece the girls use is called "Airline Calamity" by Joanna Dell. Walerius plays a tired passenger and Lipinski plays four different characters.
"My characters are a rude stewardess, an old Southern lady who shares way too much information, an opinionated little girl, and a pregnant lady who gives birth on the plane ride," Lipinski explained. "This was my first time competing in Duo. It was fun to do something outside of what I usually do and I’m glad Katie and I decided to do it, even if it was just for one meet."
For Lipinski, competing in three categories in the same meet brought some challenges.
"The hardest part about competing in three categories for me is the preparation," she said. "I had to cut, practice, and write for three very different speeches."
Lipinski also had to showcase a range of emotions in her three speeches.
"Our Duo is a humorous speech, my Prose is a sad one, and my Great Speeches is a public address with no emotion," she noted. "Fortunately, Duo is a pre-recorded category, so Katie and I recorded on Wednesday and could focus on our other categories on Saturday. It was a long day and I was exhausted, but it was worth it."
Lipinski also was awarded fifth place in Prose.
"My Prose speech this year is “Amazing Grace” by Bradley Walton," said Lipinski. "It follows a narrator whose family friend gets in a car accident because she was drunk driving and their struggles surrounding that."
For Walerius, her final year of speech has been a bit out of the ordinary.
"Speech this year has definitely been different," she said. "The part I enjoy the most is bonding with my team. I am able to be with them all day and get to know them more and see their personalities. Speech as a whole has given me wonderful skills that I will be able to use for years to come."
The sub-sections will be held Saturday, April 10 and the state competition will be April 24.

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