GCHS Forensics Team competes at Paducah Tilghman; Olivia Gregory takes home first in storytelling

%28from+left%29+Koki+Tsubota%3B+Aidan+Walker%2C+3rd+place%2C+Declamation%2C+2nd+place%2C+Storytelling%3B+Olivia+Gregory%2C+1st+place%2C+Storytelling%3B+Michael+Black%2C+3rd+place%2C+Poetry%3B+Kendall+Tubbs%2C+3rd+place%2C+Extemporaneous+Speaking%3B+John+Roberts%3B+Nick+Lashbrook%2C+7th+place%2C+Extemporaneous+Speaking%2C+6th+place%2C+Humorous+Interpretation%3B+Landon+Ray

(from left) Koki Tsubota; Aidan Walker, 3rd place, Declamation, 2nd place, Storytelling; Olivia Gregory, 1st place, Storytelling; Michael Black, 3rd place, Poetry; Kendall Tubbs, 3rd place, Extemporaneous Speaking; John Roberts; Nick Lashbrook, 7th place, Extemporaneous Speaking, 6th place, Humorous Interpretation; Landon Ray

This past weekend the GCHS Forensics Team competed in the Paducah Tilghman Tornado Alley Invitational.

Five students broke finals, meaning that their performance was ranked in the top 7. Out of 7 finalist entries, five placed in the top 3.
In Storytelling, Olivia Gregory placed first with Aidan Walker following suit in 2nd.
“Olivia definitely showed great improvement from the previous tournament at BG,” said head coach Aaron West. “This is only her second time competing in Storytelling, and to go from just starting to winning the event is evidence of the hard work in practice, as well as successfully implementing the critiques she received at the last tournament.”
“Aidan has also impressed with his back to back 2nd place finishes out of the three times he has competed in Storytelling,” West continued.
Walker also placed 3rd in Declamation.
Michael Black (poetry) and Kendall Tubbs (Extemporaneous Speaking) placed 3rd, while team member Nick Lashbrook placed 6th in Humorous Interpretation and 7th in Extemporaneous Speaking.
John Roberts, Landon Ray, and Koki Tsubota also competed in the tournament, with West commenting on their performances as well: “Some individual students had some impressive performances in preliminaries but were just short of making it to finals due to one bad round. Even though they may not have gone home with a medal, there are clear indicators that they have the potential to succeed in their events.”
On February 1st, the team will travel to Murray for the KHSSL Regional Tournament, where the competition becomes tougher as performers attempt to reserve their spot at the state tournament in March.
“Only the top two in each event are recognized at regionals,” explained West, “so it is more difficult to come out with individual awards.”
“Last year the team tied for 3rd place in the region, but the tie was broken and we were edged out of placing due to earning less 1st place ranks as a team overall. I am hopeful that we will be able to push ourselves a bit further this year and come out with a sweepstakes award heading into the state tournament.”