4 Raiders participated in Harrisburg on Saturday, October 8 for a competitive Oral Interp meet, the Harrisburg Tiger Tournament. Jackson Rolston, Presley Slaba, Trenton Rolston, and Macee Stimpson all came home with ribbons after an early morning start.

Presley performed her storytelling piece, “Unbroken,” a goosebump-inducing rendition of Olympic runner and World War II Veteran Louis Zamperini’s story of his resilient survival of a WWII plane crash, through a series of POW camps, and finally, his saving moment as a bornagain Christian. Presley earned 6th out of 13 and an Excellent award on what judges named a “powerful story.”

Trenton and Macee have developed their duet, “(Un) comfortable Silence” into a piece of humor exhibiting a grumpy old man who just wants to read his newspaper, and a chatty girl who wants to continue a conversation, despite the lulls — whether comfortable or uncomfortable silences occur. Trenton and Macee worked hard to earn 10th of 24 duets this weekend. The duo was awarded Excellent, and judges noted the duo was “funny and entertaining.”

Presley and Jackson also work together in a duet, interpreting the struggles and triumphs of high school students trying to perfect “Abbott and Costello,” and deciding Who’s on first and What’s on second. The duet received a Superior award. Presley and Jackson give a “very funny” duet where they “play off each other well,” as noted by judges. The duo earned 5th of 24th this weekend.

Jackson received an Excellent award for his humor piece, “Thank You for Texting,” where a speaker gets frustrated by, yet motivated to improve, when a member of the audience won’t put their phone down. Jackson wrote a “great attention grabber” for his piece, which judges also noted that the “storyline is great!” Jackson received 11th of 27 in the humor division. Make sure to check out Jackson and the rest of the Oral Interp team at our home event on Monday, November 7 at 6pm! Next Saturday, October 15, a larger group will head to Brandon Valley Speaking Lynx Invitational.