Moorhead High speech team duo wins first at national tournament

After winning its 20th Section 8AA title and advancing a record 27 speakers to the 2014 Class AA state speech tournament this year, Moorhead High School’s speech team has been recognized as one of the top in the nation.

Nine Moorhead High School speech team members qualified for the 2014 National Forensics League Speech Tournament last month in Kansas City. Jordan Hartjen and Matthew Wisenden were named national champions in duo interpretation, and the Moorhead High School speech team was awarded the Speech School of Excellence Award, placing the team as one of the top speech schools in the nation.

In other results, Drew Swenson and Karina Twedt placed eighth in duo interpretation, Katie Beedy placed in the top 30 in the nation in oratory, and Auna Lee placed in the top 60 in humorous interpretation.

While Hartjen and Wisenden are Moorhead High’s first national speech champions, the speech team has had numerous national winners over the years. In 2013, Nina Grollman placed second in humorous interpretation after having placed fourth in humorous interpretation in 2012. In 2012, Devon Manney placed sixth in dramatic interpretation. In 2011, Grollman and Sam Wisenden placed fourth in duo interpretation, and Trevor Larson placed third in humor.

Rebecca Meyer-Larson is the speech coach.