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| Speech Tournament Summaries |
State Tournament
North Pointe's Sophomore Katie Komos became the Prep's first Speech State Champion by winning the Dramatic category
at the 1A-3A State finals. "I am so proud of my team," said Troy Ward, Speech Team Coach. "Last year we were 11th. This
team is so amazing and they have improved so much." The Prep's Speech Team took 4th overall and placed 13 in the
finals. Derek Bies was a State Finalist in Original Oratory with a 5th place. Jonathan Burgmeir was a State Finalist in Duo
Interpretation with a 4th place and also in Humorous Interpretation with a 3rd place. Steven Cleaveland was a State Finalist
in Prose with a 6th place. Kaylin Crowl was a State Finalist in Poetry with a 6th place and also in Duo Interpretation with a
4th place. Mallory Johnson as a State Finalist in Dramatic Interpretation with a 4th place. Kim See as a State Finalist in
Expository with a 6th place and also in Dramatic Interpretation with a 3rd place. Ashlyn Tupper as a State Finalist in
Humorous Interpretation with a 6th place. Celeste Ulloa as a State Finalist in Expository with a 2nd place and also in Prose
with a 5th place.
Mesa High School
The Prep's journey to Mesa High School proved to be the toughest of the year as the team failed to place anyone into the
finals for the first time this year. Five students, however, place in semi-finals: Steven and Ben Cleveland for Duo-
Interpretation, Jonathan Burgmeir for Humor, Kaylin Crowl for Poetry and Katie Komos for Prose - missing breaking into
finals by one point.
Central High School
The Prep’s Speech Team placed 10th out of 43 1A-5A schools and at the Central High School Speech Tournament and
ended with nine students breaking into semi-finals and three students placing in finals. The tournament featured over 800
participants and took 18 hours to complete. Celeste Ulloa finished third in Storytelling. Katie Komos, in her first finals
placement of the year, finished fourth in the Dramatic category. Kaylinn Crowl earned a fifth place in Storytelling.
Valley Christian High School
In another impressive showing, North Pointe’s Speech Team finished in sixth place at the Valley Christian Speech
tournament which included 25 schools ranging from 1A-5A. The team had 14 of its 20 team members break into semi-finals
and 9 students ultimately earned spots in the finals rounds. Frankie Marchi was the top student of the day earning two
trophies with a third place finish in the Humorous category and a third place in Duo-Interpretation. His partner in Duo,
Pharao Lamothe also took home a trophy with his third place in the Duo-Interpretation category along with a fourth place
medal in Poetry. Melody Chrispen earned her fifth consecutive award this year with a fourth place in Expository Speaking.
Also taking home fourth place medals were Jonathan Burgmeir and Kaylinn Crowl with their Duo-Interpretation piece.
Finishing with fifth place medals each in the Duo-Interpretation category were Steven Cleveland and James Daly. The Prep
also took home a school award for being the team that demonstrated the best team spirit and comradery. "I'm more happy
with this honor as a team than anything else,” said Coach Troy Ward. “We won the award for being the team who was not
only the most strategic, but also the team who demonstrated the best sportsmanship at the tournament. It shows how close
we are as a team and that in itself explains why we keep getting better and better.”
Dobson High School
In yet another amazing showing at the Dobson High School Speech Tournament, the North Pointe Speech Team continued
to demonstrate excellence. With 11 spots attained in semi-final rounds the team was ecstatic with another personal best,
ultimately ending the grueling 16 hour day in another eleventh place finish, barely missing the top ten spot by mere points.
The competition consisted of 41 high schools ranging in divisions from the top 1A to 5A ranked schools in the state. In her
third consecutive tournament, Junior Melody Chrispen broke into finals in the Storytelling category. Melody says that her
goal is to place in finals at every single tournament this year and with six more tournaments to go, she is well on her way to
becoming one of the most successful Speech Team competitor in the history of North Pointe Preparatory.
Red Mountain High School
The Prep's freshman Kaylinn Crowl earned first place at the Red Mountain High School 'Lost Dutchmen' Speech
Tournament and became the only student in North Pointe history to take a 1st place award. In what was the largest speech
tournament in the State's history, the Prep took 11th out of 43 schools placing higher than many larger 4A and 5A schools.
North Pointe placed 10 spots in the semi-final rounds with students breaking in the Duo-Interpretation category and
Storytelling. Steven Cleaveland and Mallory Johnson, Ben Cleaveland and Celeste Ulloa, and Jonathan Burgmeir and
Patrick Wagner all performed in the in the Duo-Interpretation semi-finals. Making it to the semi-finals In Storytelling was
Jonathan Burgmeir (double breaking); Celeste Ulloa (double breaking); Melody Chrispen; and Kaylinn Crowl. After the semi-
final rounds were completed the Prep ended up having three students break into the final round of Storytelling. In this
event students gave a presentation of a memorized ghost story in which the student delivered the story with emphasis on
extreme characterization. At the awards ceremony at the end of the night the entire auditorium went crazy when the North
Pointe Speech Team took first place, second place, and fourth place in the Stroytelling category. In addition to Crowl's first
place finish, Junior Melody Chrispen placed second and Freshmen Celeste Ulloa ended with 4th. Mr. Troy Ward, the Prep's
Speech Team Coach was ecstatic at his team's amazing accomplishments at this tournament. “It was so strange having all
of these huge teams pointing at us and whispering as we walked by them," said Mr. Ward. "Then at the end to have so
many schools cheering for us at the awards ceremony made us feel that we were finally the team we have been working so
hard to be. More than anything I am pleased at the way my team responded to the success of fellow team members who
won awards. The entire team was walking on air and I was so proud of everyone because even those students who had
worked all day at the tournament and did not place were behind those who did. It was a magical thing that happened,
students had stopped caring about their own individual performances and began to understand that the team as a whole
was successful because of each person’s hard work and dedication. We came together as a team and success is so
sweet!”
Glendale Community College
The first tournament of the competitive year for the Prep's Speech Team was held at Glendale Community College. There
were twenty two teams from across the state competing in events including Original Oratory, Duo-Interpretation, Poetry,
Expository Speaking, and Prose. The Falcons began the year successfully finishing in an overall 8th place out of the
twenty two schools attending. In an incredible feat of triumph, North Pointe had two students make it into the final rounds
after competing during a 14 hour day. Frankie Marchi, a Sophomore and current co-captain for the Speech Team placed
7th out of 28 students in the Prose category and shined in his final round. Melody Chrispen, a Junior and returning team
member placed 4th at Finals with an Expository speech on the dangers of cartoons. This was Melody’s first time making it
into a final round at a tournament. After the long day of competition Mr. Ward, the team’s Coach said, “I know that our
students were disappointed that we didn’t have more students make it into the final rounds but what we did here was
amazing. We received more team points than we’ve ever received before, and we finished 8th in the tournament out of 22
schools, many of them giant 4A and 5A division schools. And, on top of it all we had two students qualify for finals. Last
year, as well as our little team did, we still didn’t have students begin making it into final rounds until we were four
tournaments into the competitive year. This is just the first tournament so I’m thrilled with what the team has done this early
on”.
North Pointe's Sophomore Katie Komos became the Prep's first Speech State Champion by winning the Dramatic category
at the 1A-3A State finals. "I am so proud of my team," said Troy Ward, Speech Team Coach. "Last year we were 11th. This
team is so amazing and they have improved so much." The Prep's Speech Team took 4th overall and placed 13 in the
finals. Derek Bies was a State Finalist in Original Oratory with a 5th place. Jonathan Burgmeir was a State Finalist in Duo
Interpretation with a 4th place and also in Humorous Interpretation with a 3rd place. Steven Cleaveland was a State Finalist
in Prose with a 6th place. Kaylin Crowl was a State Finalist in Poetry with a 6th place and also in Duo Interpretation with a
4th place. Mallory Johnson as a State Finalist in Dramatic Interpretation with a 4th place. Kim See as a State Finalist in
Expository with a 6th place and also in Dramatic Interpretation with a 3rd place. Ashlyn Tupper as a State Finalist in
Humorous Interpretation with a 6th place. Celeste Ulloa as a State Finalist in Expository with a 2nd place and also in Prose
with a 5th place.
Mesa High School
The Prep's journey to Mesa High School proved to be the toughest of the year as the team failed to place anyone into the
finals for the first time this year. Five students, however, place in semi-finals: Steven and Ben Cleveland for Duo-
Interpretation, Jonathan Burgmeir for Humor, Kaylin Crowl for Poetry and Katie Komos for Prose - missing breaking into
finals by one point.
Central High School
The Prep’s Speech Team placed 10th out of 43 1A-5A schools and at the Central High School Speech Tournament and
ended with nine students breaking into semi-finals and three students placing in finals. The tournament featured over 800
participants and took 18 hours to complete. Celeste Ulloa finished third in Storytelling. Katie Komos, in her first finals
placement of the year, finished fourth in the Dramatic category. Kaylinn Crowl earned a fifth place in Storytelling.
Valley Christian High School
In another impressive showing, North Pointe’s Speech Team finished in sixth place at the Valley Christian Speech
tournament which included 25 schools ranging from 1A-5A. The team had 14 of its 20 team members break into semi-finals
and 9 students ultimately earned spots in the finals rounds. Frankie Marchi was the top student of the day earning two
trophies with a third place finish in the Humorous category and a third place in Duo-Interpretation. His partner in Duo,
Pharao Lamothe also took home a trophy with his third place in the Duo-Interpretation category along with a fourth place
medal in Poetry. Melody Chrispen earned her fifth consecutive award this year with a fourth place in Expository Speaking.
Also taking home fourth place medals were Jonathan Burgmeir and Kaylinn Crowl with their Duo-Interpretation piece.
Finishing with fifth place medals each in the Duo-Interpretation category were Steven Cleveland and James Daly. The Prep
also took home a school award for being the team that demonstrated the best team spirit and comradery. "I'm more happy
with this honor as a team than anything else,” said Coach Troy Ward. “We won the award for being the team who was not
only the most strategic, but also the team who demonstrated the best sportsmanship at the tournament. It shows how close
we are as a team and that in itself explains why we keep getting better and better.”
Dobson High School
In yet another amazing showing at the Dobson High School Speech Tournament, the North Pointe Speech Team continued
to demonstrate excellence. With 11 spots attained in semi-final rounds the team was ecstatic with another personal best,
ultimately ending the grueling 16 hour day in another eleventh place finish, barely missing the top ten spot by mere points.
The competition consisted of 41 high schools ranging in divisions from the top 1A to 5A ranked schools in the state. In her
third consecutive tournament, Junior Melody Chrispen broke into finals in the Storytelling category. Melody says that her
goal is to place in finals at every single tournament this year and with six more tournaments to go, she is well on her way to
becoming one of the most successful Speech Team competitor in the history of North Pointe Preparatory.
Red Mountain High School
The Prep's freshman Kaylinn Crowl earned first place at the Red Mountain High School 'Lost Dutchmen' Speech
Tournament and became the only student in North Pointe history to take a 1st place award. In what was the largest speech
tournament in the State's history, the Prep took 11th out of 43 schools placing higher than many larger 4A and 5A schools.
North Pointe placed 10 spots in the semi-final rounds with students breaking in the Duo-Interpretation category and
Storytelling. Steven Cleaveland and Mallory Johnson, Ben Cleaveland and Celeste Ulloa, and Jonathan Burgmeir and
Patrick Wagner all performed in the in the Duo-Interpretation semi-finals. Making it to the semi-finals In Storytelling was
Jonathan Burgmeir (double breaking); Celeste Ulloa (double breaking); Melody Chrispen; and Kaylinn Crowl. After the semi-
final rounds were completed the Prep ended up having three students break into the final round of Storytelling. In this
event students gave a presentation of a memorized ghost story in which the student delivered the story with emphasis on
extreme characterization. At the awards ceremony at the end of the night the entire auditorium went crazy when the North
Pointe Speech Team took first place, second place, and fourth place in the Stroytelling category. In addition to Crowl's first
place finish, Junior Melody Chrispen placed second and Freshmen Celeste Ulloa ended with 4th. Mr. Troy Ward, the Prep's
Speech Team Coach was ecstatic at his team's amazing accomplishments at this tournament. “It was so strange having all
of these huge teams pointing at us and whispering as we walked by them," said Mr. Ward. "Then at the end to have so
many schools cheering for us at the awards ceremony made us feel that we were finally the team we have been working so
hard to be. More than anything I am pleased at the way my team responded to the success of fellow team members who
won awards. The entire team was walking on air and I was so proud of everyone because even those students who had
worked all day at the tournament and did not place were behind those who did. It was a magical thing that happened,
students had stopped caring about their own individual performances and began to understand that the team as a whole
was successful because of each person’s hard work and dedication. We came together as a team and success is so
sweet!”
Glendale Community College
The first tournament of the competitive year for the Prep's Speech Team was held at Glendale Community College. There
were twenty two teams from across the state competing in events including Original Oratory, Duo-Interpretation, Poetry,
Expository Speaking, and Prose. The Falcons began the year successfully finishing in an overall 8th place out of the
twenty two schools attending. In an incredible feat of triumph, North Pointe had two students make it into the final rounds
after competing during a 14 hour day. Frankie Marchi, a Sophomore and current co-captain for the Speech Team placed
7th out of 28 students in the Prose category and shined in his final round. Melody Chrispen, a Junior and returning team
member placed 4th at Finals with an Expository speech on the dangers of cartoons. This was Melody’s first time making it
into a final round at a tournament. After the long day of competition Mr. Ward, the team’s Coach said, “I know that our
students were disappointed that we didn’t have more students make it into the final rounds but what we did here was
amazing. We received more team points than we’ve ever received before, and we finished 8th in the tournament out of 22
schools, many of them giant 4A and 5A division schools. And, on top of it all we had two students qualify for finals. Last
year, as well as our little team did, we still didn’t have students begin making it into final rounds until we were four
tournaments into the competitive year. This is just the first tournament so I’m thrilled with what the team has done this early
on”.
