Meet Me in... Omaha!

March 6, 2010

Oh yes, they did it again! The Bronx Prep Speech Team pulled out a huge tournament at the CFL National Qualifier, held in Tribeca at the prestigious Stuyvesant High School.

Last year's remarkable finish put four Bronx Prep entries and six students into the CFL Championships and this year's tournament was nearly as successful. The CFL stands for the Catholic Forensics League, but for this team, it might as well be the Can't Fail League. The top six competitors in each event at this qualifier earn themselves a slot at CFL Nationals, held this year in Omaha, Nebraska.

From the top: Chris Moncrief qualified for his third CFL Nationals in a row, finishing in second place in Original Oratory. Keegon Robinson and Tiffany McLarty finished 4th in Duo Interpretation - they will each compete at "Cat Nats" for their second year in a row. And the shock finish of the tournament? Ms. Tayshawn Layton, competing for the first time all year in the event of Dramatic Performance, proved what we all knew all along: this young lady has serious talent.

Tayshawn did what no Bronx Prep Speech competitor has done all year: she found her own source material (a Junie B. Jones short story), created her own interpretation (let's just say that in this version, Junie B. wasn't exactly... white), and practiced enough on her own to get herself in form for competition. Tayshawn didn't let frustrating finishes at the Harvard or District tournament dispel her, worked hard with her coaches and earned her spot - she'll compete on this year's NYC CFL team by way of her sixth place finish.

Let's tally that up! Bronx Prep's CFL National Championship Entry by the numbers: three entries in three different events and a whopping four competitors for BP will be traveling to Omaha in May to represent the New York City region. It was good enough to earn Bronx Prep an 11th place finish in the Sweepstakes Team competition at the tournament.

Ever been to Nebraska? Neither have we, but thanks to the hard work and strong finishes of these four students, we'll be able to tell you what it's like, come this May.