On December 10, Huntley High School’s Speech Team attended the Pirates’ Booty Invitational tournament at Palatine High School. Coming off of a high from a big win last weekend, the team had high expectations. Unfortunately, they fell short of that.
Quite a few schools from the surrounding area participated in the event including Prospect placing first, Cary-Grove placing second, Elk Grove placing third, Warren Township placing fourth, and York placing fifth. While Huntley did not place overall as a team, they had six individuals place in their respective events.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talent on the team, especially with our sophomores and juniors, which is amazing for the future of the team,” senior Palak Patel said.
The varisty team had two individuals place first in their events , including Patel in Dramatic Interpretation and junior Kate Emmel in Special Occasion Speaking.
Patel also pulled through for another event and placed second in Prose Reading.
Sophomore Sam Moore, a newbie to the varsity team, placed fourth in Humorous Interpretation.
Senior Mawa Iqbal placed fifth in Informative Speaking.
Junior Veronica Casey placed fifth in Impromptu Speaking with senior Shamika Patil following close behind in sixth.
Junior Becca Zayas was named a finalist in Poetry, along with Emmel and Sophie Dowell in Humorous Duet Acting and Junior Sarah Stolpe in Extemporaneous Speaking.
Regarding the JV team, Emily Hill and Kate Urosevich placed first in Dramatic Duel Acting.
Marissa Bowman placed second in Prose Reading
Dani Bohn and Emily Hill placed fifth in Humorous Duet Acting andTara Pavithran placed sixth in Original Oratory.
Although only a few individuals placed this time, there is no tension among team members.
“Everyone has their individual event, and at other schools, sometimes there is an every-man-for-himself kind of mentality,” Wallace said. “I don’t think we have that here at all. Everyone wants their teammates to win just as much as they want to win themselves.”
While taking losses is never a fun part of the season, the team is hopeful for the future.
“Our momentum is really starting to pick up,” Wallace said. “I’m feeling really optimistic about the rest of the season.”