Middle School Forensic Team Takes Third at State

It takes a lot of skill and courage to get up and speak in front of a room full of strangers, but the Forensic Team met that challenge consistently throughout its season, which ended in a third-place ranking at the state tournament Saturday.

Coach Marlene Pechura said the team won two trophies during the season, so she knew the team had a good chance at placing in the state tournament. Still, she and the rest of the team were elated when they learned the results.

"The Whitefish Bay Middle School Forensic Team continues to grow in numbers and talent," she said. "The forensic students are the absolute best."

Thirty-nine local middle school students competed in 24 entries at the all-day competition in Neenah High School on Saturday, joining more than 1,350 middle school students from 84 schools. Whitefish Bay competed in the extra-large schools division. 

Six students captured second-place individual trophies and two won first-place individual trophies. Eighteen students earned medals as power round qualifiers.

Results are as follows:

1^st Place Power Trophies & Medal Winners

• Jieun Heo (8th grade) — Informative Speech
• Evan Howell (8th grade) — Storytelling

2^nd Place Power Trophies & Medal Winners

• Van Bassindale (8th grade) — Serious Solo
• Alli Biskowitz (7th grade) — Impromptu Speaking
• Stuart Blue (7th grade) and Michael Muth (7th grade) — Infomercial
• Olivia Gonzalez (8th grade) — Poetry
• Evan Zhao (8th grade) — Informative Speech

Power Medal Winners

• Maddy Bonner/Gabi Breitenbach/Kaitlyn Jackson/Grace Wirth (8th grade) — Group Interpretation
• Antonio Flees (7th grade) and Evan Hunter (8th grade) — Infomercial
• Hannah Haider/Audrey Head/Arianna Rivera/ Emma Wallace (8th grade) — Group Acting