Article by Ann Tornberg
A total of 16 Beresford students grades 6-12 attended the Brandon Valley Oral Interp Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 19 at Brandon Valley High School. Four Beresford High School Students and 12 Beresford Middle School students contributed to the second-place Team Sweepstakes award. There were 25 schools in attendance with a total of 275 individual competitors and 308 entries. All 25 schools attending were in the same category for Sweepstakes, regardless of school size. Beresford's second place finish meant they had earned more points than much larger schools like Sioux Falls Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln or Roosevelt.
Coach Ann Tornberg commented, "It is a real testament to the hard work of these students, who are very young compared to the rest of the competition. Beresford is one of the only Oral Interp teams which travels middle school students. Most of the students from everywhere else are 9-12 graders. I am very proud of all our students, but especially the middle schoolers."
Individual winners who advanced to finals included:
Novice Duet Acting Finals: 4th place -Raiden Hanner (8th grade) and Emma Martinsen (7th grade); 5th place- Abby Cahoon (8th grade) and Ojala Bartlett (8th grade).
Novice Humor Finals: 3rd place-Raiden Hanner (8th grade).
Novice Poetry Finals: 4th place- Jula Kinney (7th grade).
Novice Storytelling Finals: 1st place -Anna Andrews (6th grade); 4th place -Abby Cahoon (8th grade); and 5th place -Noah Peterson (6th grade).
Varsity Storytelling Finals: 3rd place-Juliet Josko (9th grade).
Varsity Drama Finals: 4th place- Isabella Russo (10th grade).
Varsity Duet Acting Finals: 4th place- Max Kinney and Henry Huether (both 9th grade).
Varsity Humor Finals: 4th place-Max Kinney (9th grade)
Varsity Poetry Finals: 2nd place- Isabella Russo (10th grade).
The Beresford Readers Theater also advanced to the final round where they received 4th place. That team is comprised of five 8th-grade students, including Raiden Hanner, Abby Cahoon, Ojala Bartlett, Maddy Aday, and Sophia Penn.
Earlier in the week on Thursday, Oct. 17, a total of 18 students traveled to Lennox for two rounds of competition as they had to leave the tournament before the third round in order to be back in Beresford for the Vocal and Band Concert that same Thursday night. Two Beresford students completed the entire tournament and thus were eligible for awards. Freshman Juliet Josko received first place in Storytelling, and 8th grader Raiden Hanner also received first place in Humor.
The Beresford Interp Team will travel to SF Washington, on Friday, Oct. 25th for their next tournament.
Back row left to right: Max Kinney, Henry Huether, Isabella Russo, and Juliet Josko. Middle row: Sophia Penn, Raiden Hanner, Ojala Bartlett, Abby Cahoon, Zooey Bartlett, Coach Tornberg, Emma Martinsen, and Julia Kinney. Front row: Noah Peterson, Aubrie Pibal, Natalie Sternquist, Maddy Aday, and Anna Andrews.