Speech Team Makes Like Jets and Takes Off

1/9/10

Mineola, NY - The Bronx Prep Speech Team broke into 2010 in a big way on Saturday with every competing member of the team showing marked improvement at the Chaminade Invitational tournament on Long Island. Norberto Troncoso, Alethea Brown, and Monica Lindsay all took huge strides and made major progress, while Keegon Robinson, Tiffany McLarty and Sahirah Johnson had huge days and finished at the top in their respective events.

Besides the win by Long Island's favorite football team, the surging New York Jets, the big story on Saturday was the Duo team of Keegon and Tiffany, who joined forces to present The Shipment - a ten-minute cutting of Young Jean Lee's experimental play. They tore through the preliminary rounds like the Jets running game, before lighting up a packed house in Finals and fninishing in second place. Their finish earned them some serious hardware (on display in the Library) and even more importantly, a half-qualification for the NYS championships. Another finish like that at this weekend's tournament will earn them a slot in this year's state championships - the Super Bowl of the New York Forensics world - with far better odds to win than 50-1.

Meanwhile, Sahirah Johnson made the most successful debut of a Bronx Prep speech competitor in recent memory. Competing in Oral Interpretation against students with years of experience, she finished 2nd in each of her three preliminary rounds, tying the score needed to make Finals, and earning an Honorable Mention. Of the 124 students competing in OI on Saturday, Sahirah finished in a tie for 16th. Her successful start was almost as impressive as a rookie quarterback delivering his franchise's first playoff win in five years.

The Jets head to San Diego this weekend for their competition, but the BP speech team will stay much closer to home, competing at Regis and Loyola High Schools on the Upper East Side. The team will send more competitors and will be represented in nearly every competition event as BP Speech continues to expand and the team members continue to improve. Here's hoping that hard work, focus and determination during this week's practices will lead to another weekend of dual success.