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!
