JV/Novice State!

Apple Valley brought home three new state champions from the JV/Novice State Tournament.

Henry Dikeman is now the Minnesota State Champion in JV Lincoln-Douglas debate, while Kenan Anderson and Alexis Niska are co-champions of Novice Lincoln-Douglas debate.

The future looks bright for the Apple Valley debate program!

Apple Valley Flexes its Muscle at Glenbrooks!

At one of the most competitive tournaments in the nation, Glenbrooks, both the Speech and Debate programs had stellar showings, finishing fourth in the tournament's sweepstakes.

The speech team got off to a great start, with Keiaireyona Brown taking second in Original Oratory, Cassie Edlund taking second in Prose and Poetry, and Tessa Dahlgren breaking to semi-finals in Dramatic Interpretation.

The debate team also had a strong showing, with Henry Dikeman breaking to semi-finals in JV LD debate and Prince Hyeamang breaking to double-octofinals.

Lakeville North Debate Tournament

Congratulations to the Apple Valley Debate Team 

another strong showing at the Lakeville North Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 11th!

*Debaters Keenan Anderson, John Boals, Cece Gueltzow, Frankie Kelly, Sophie Ober, & Grace Hoffa 

all received Top Speaker Awards in their respective categories!

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Lakeville North Debate Tournament Results

Varsity Lincoln Douglas Top Finalists:

1st place: Grace Hoffa

2nd place: Claire Hoffa

4th place: Sophie Ober

5th place: Frankie Kelly

JV Lincoln Douglas Top Finalists:

1st place: John Boals

Novice Lincoln Douglas Top Finalist:

5th place: Kenan Anderson

Novice Public Forum:

3rd place: Cece Gueltzow & Zachary Hayes

Congratulations to the Apple Valley Debate Team 

on their strong showing at the Anoka Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 4th!

*LD Debaters Keenan Anderson, John Boals, Frankie Kelly, Claire Hoffa, & Grace Hoffa 

all received Top Speaker Awards in their respective categories!

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Anoka Debate Tournament Results

Varsity Lincoln Douglas Top Finalists:

1st place: Grace Hoffa

3rd place: Claire Hoffa

4th place: Frankie Kelly

JV Lincoln Douglas Top Finalists:

2nd place: Henry Dikeman

3rd place: John Boals

Novice Lincoln Douglas Top Finalist:

2nd place: Kenan Anderson

Welcome to our new Website

We are glad to unveil our new website.  Finding a more user friendly platform will give us more flexibility in updating and changing our design to meet our various needs. 

Stay posted!  We will be re-building our "Tradition of Excellence"  and "Alumni" pages along with a copy of our speech and debate schedule. 

Also, if you have pictures that you would like to share with us, please send them to Mr. Hagg, Ms. Johnson, Mr. Goodson, or Mr. Voss.

One More for the Wall

Sophomore Moti Begna reserved his spot on the Apple Valley High School Speech and Debate Wall of Fame with his 5th place finish this past week in Kansas City, MO, at the National Speech and Debate Tournament. In just his second year in the program, Moti, who competes in the category of Original Oratory, guaranteed that he will be immortalized with the past members of Apple Valley’s most prestigious club.

This honor is especially sweet for Scott and Tzitel Voss and Kathleen Johnson, the head coaches of the Apple Valley Speech team who replaced the legendary Joe and Pam Wycoff this year. Moti is their first Wall of Fame speaker, with hopefully many more to come.

But Moti was just the most visible member of an Apple Valley Speech and Debate contingency that earned success in a variety of events at the National Speech and Debate Tournament. On the speech side of the tournament, sophomore Stephanie Kahle advanced into the semi-final round of Humorous interpretation, finishing 10th overall,  while senior Caroline Berg’s performance in Original Oratory earned her a top-30 finish.

Two debaters represented the Debate of the Apple Valley Forensics program admirably as well: senior Maddy Ober, who advanced to Round 9, and sophomore Claire Hoffa, who advanced to Round 10, good enough for a top-60 finish overall.

The combined efforts of these students – as well as their teammates and coaches – earned Apple Valley a School of Excellence award, placing the school among the top-20 programs in the country. Well done!

While this site is devoted to reporting the success of Apple Valley students, it is important to recognize that 3rd place in the event of Humorous Interpretation was awarded to an out-of-state student coached by Bryan Hagg. Why is this important? Because Mr. Hagg will be joining Scott, Tzitel, and Kathleen this summer as the new Director of Forensics at Apple Valley. Congratulations to Mr. Hagg, and, as always, the future looks bright for the Apple Valley Speech and Debate programs!

NCFL Success

The prestigious Grand National Tournament for the National Catholic Forensics League was held this past weekend in Chicago, and a contingent of the Apple Valley Speech and Debate team comprised of both seasoned seniors and sophomores put in performances to make themselves and their school proud. Special recognition is due to Julie Manning, who earned 5th place overall in the category of Declamation in just her sophomore year. Two other sophomores advanced to Quarterfinals: Teja Lawrence, also in Declamation, and Moti Begna in Original Oratory. A number of Apple Valley competitors advanced into the elimination rounds, including sophomore Stephanie Kahle in Dramatic Interpretation and senior Caroline Berg in Original Oratory. Three other Apple Valley speakers contributed noteworthy performances to be proud of despite not advancing. Sophomore Cassandra Edlund and senior Rebecca Crepeau in Dramatic Interpretation as well as Jordan Larson in Original Oratory all put forth incredible efforts in their final organized high school forensics tournament.

The Apple Valley debaters who competed at the National Tournament faced some of the toughest competition in the country, and although neither entry was able to advance into the elimination rounds, their achievements are worthy of our praise. In Public Forum, junior Margo Sanders and senior Andrea Aguilar came together to . Senior Lincoln-Douglas debater Maddy Ober contributed a and will hope to apply what she learned from this tournament at the National Speech and Debate Tournament in Kansas City in a few weeks. Joining Maddy in Kansas City will be fellow Lincoln-Douglas debater Claire Hoffa and speakers Moti Begna, Caroline Berg, and Stephanie Kahle. Please take the time to congratulate all of these participants on their stellar tournament, seasons, and careers, and wish them best of luck as they prepare for the final showdown in Kansas City!

Banquet Awards 2014

The Apple Valley Speech and Debate team celebrated the conclusion of its local 2013-2014 season this Wednesday with its annual banquet. Below are some of the notable awards and honorees from the evening.

Debate Specialty Awards

Most Improved: Sophie Ober

Most Persistent: Chris Ramsumair

Most Promising LD Debater: Prince Hyeamang

Most Determined: Grace Hoffa

Outstanding Varsity LD Debater: Maddy Ober

Speech specialty

Distinguished Career Award: Olivia Schiffman

Most Resilient: Anna Gravrok

Most Persistent: Grace Barnstead

Senior Speaker/Debaters: Andrea Aguilar & Maddy Ober

Most Improved: Rebecca Crepeau

Wayne Brinton Spirit Award: Caylin Stately

Chris Reiland Memorial Award: Jordan Larson

Wycoff Star Award:  Caroline Berg

In addition to these senior awards, junior Grace Hoffa earned the distinction of reaching the highest level of membership in the Speech and Debate Association. Grace has accumulated 1,500 points in just three years in high school forensics, earning the level of Premier Distinction in the Speech and Debate Association. Well done, Grace!

NCFL Qual

Andrea Aguilar (Public Forum)

Rebecca Crepeau (Prose & Poetry)

Jordan Larson (Original Oratory)

Margo Sanders (Public Forum)

Cassandra Edlund (Prose&Poetry)

Teja Lawrence (Declamation)

Julie Manning (Declamation)

NFL Qual

Claire Hoffa (Lincoln Douglas)

Both NCFL and NFLs

Caroline Berg (Original Oratory)

Maddy Ober (Lincoln Douglas)

Stephanie Kahle (Humorous)

Moti Begna (Original Oratory)

MSHSL Lincoln-Douglas State Debate Tournament

Grace Hoffa – 9th overall

Maddy Ober – Participant

MSHSL State Public Forum Debate Tournament

Andrea Aguilar & Margo Sanders (Quaterfinalists)

Novice/JV State Debate Tournament

The performance of the Apple Valley debate team’s Novice and Junior Varsity members at this year’s State Debate tournament is also worthy of revisiting. In the Junior Varsity division of Lincoln Douglas, Apple Valley took the top three spots with sophomores Frankie Kelly, Prince Hyeamang, and Sophie Ober. Another sophomore, Claire Hoffa, also advanced into the elimination rounds of the JV LD division. A number of Apple Valley freshman debaters advanced into elimination rounds in the Novice LD division of the tournament. Ashley Knapp  and Kylie Maxfield had the biggest impact, both advancing into the quarterfinal round, while John Boals and Henry Dikeman finished in the octafinal round. Grace Dougan, Taylor Karhatsu, and Lizzy Rhinehart were also able to advance into the elimination rounds. Congratulations to all the young stars of this year’s Debate squad!