Nolan Juelson has earned a spot in the annals of speech history at Blackduck High School by placing fifth in the Minnesota State High School League's state tournament. He was one of three Blackduck speakers who qualified for the event held on Friday, April 12 at Wayzata High School. Jody Bloom and Caroline Cheney also competed for Blackduck.
Juelson earned fifth place in Class A Great Speeches. In that category, a student chooses a significant speech done by a notable figure in history or through current events and intermixes excerpts from that speech with excerpts of original analysis of the speech's greatness through historical significance, effectiveness, and current relevance.
Juelson has been a top competitor at all tournaments throughout the past two seasons in this category. In his recreation of Abraham Lincoln's first Dred Scott speech, the speech that led to the Lincoln-Douglas debates of the mid-19th century, he uses the model of rhetorician Lloyd Bitzer to analyze Lincoln's timing, purpose, audience and constraints; while also showing the effectiveness of the speech that eventually led to Constitutional amendments guaranteeing the rights of citizens to people of color and its current relevance as voter rights throughout the United States are still under attack in parts of the country.
State tournament judge Eric Meyer said of Juelson's speech, "Nolan's analysis was the best and most accurate I have heard in Great Speeches this season."
Juelson was ranked first by Meyer, third by three judges, fourth by one, fifth by two and seventh by one. The state champion, Hannah Kahlstorf of Laporte, also came from Section 8A and is a good friend to the Blackduck Great Speakers, including Nolan.
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"Hannah is fun," said Juelson, "like an unofficial teammate. I'm very happy that she won the championship."
Kahlstorf has stayed just a point ahead of Juelson all season, except in Section 8 finals where Nolan defeated Hannah with two out of the three judges.
Bloom competed in the category of Creative Expression and wrote her own story titled "Sentient Being," in which an empathetic being helps people to cope with their problems - first benevolently, then turning toward evil when the subject of her benevolence is killed.
Roxy Janke, one of the state judges said that Jody's writing was "lovely," adding, "I do not have the gift for writing of this quality. I was pleased to witness yours."
Jody gave a chilling performance and scored well in the state tournament.
Cheney competed in the category of Original Oratory with her persuasive speech entitled "The Day the Movies Died." She explores the lack of creativity in recent Hollywood film offerings, the profit over matter attitude that leads to a decline in the quality of films mass-marketed to the public.
State judge Mark Fokken said, "Caroline is an amazing speaker with a natural talent that really draws us in as listeners. She has the most engaging delivery I've seen all day. Well done." Caroline also scored well in the state tournament.
On Tuesday, April 9, the three state speakers performed along with three teammates at the State Speaker Showcase which was well-attended at Blackduck High School. Joining Nolan, Jody and Caroline in the event were Regan Frenzel, Kaydre Gullette and Karly Pitzl. Frenzel, Gullette, and Pitzl are all successful speakers for the Drakes and will lead the team into the future as all of the state participants will graduate in May.
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