April 4th and 5th were the District competition days for Soddy Daisy HIgh School’s Forensics team. Overall, the team performed exceptionally and had the most success across the board. In Tennessee, there are 5 different districts that perform throughout the year. During regular competitions, schools who are closer regionally usually perform against each other. However, towards the end of the year, those schools are separated into districts and compete in district competitions. The best performing students in each event (could be an individual, partner, or group event) move on to the State competition, where every participating school in Tennessee comes together and competes against one another.
This year, the Soddy Daisy Forensics team had several wins at the District tournament. The team took two group events to the competition and both snagged first place and a guaranteed spot in the state competition. The first group event was One Act (a 45 minute play), which was Steel Magnolias performed by Amelia Montgomery, Gracie Howard, Payton Hunt, Dahlia Negrete-Regagnon, Emily Cardwell, and Addysen Lange. The second group event was Interp (a 25 minute interpretation of a published material without costumes or stage props), which was The Bad Beginning performed by Eric Sumner, Gracie Headrick, Braden Hitchcox, Aidan Neil, Amani Bodewes, and Delia Bradshaw. The Interp was also student directed by Amelia Montgomery and Emily Cardwell.
In individual and partner events, Amelia Montgomery and Kaylee Mooneyhan placed 1st and 2nd in Dramatic Interpretation accordingly, Amani Bodewes and Braden Hitchcox placed 2nd in Duet Acting, Aiden Bond and Eric Sumner placed 5th in Duet Improvisation, Addison McCarter placed 3rd in Extemporaneous Speaking, Eric Sumner placed 1st in Humorous Interpretation, Payton Hunt placed 4th in Original Oratory Speaking, Delia Bradshaw and Abercrombie placed 1st and 2nd in Pantomime accordingly, Gracie Howard and Paige Ormsby placed 2nd and 3rd in Poetry accordingly, Natalee Wainscott and Haven Howard placed 2nd and 3rd in Prose accordingly, Gracie Headrick, Addysen Lange, and Nate Holloway placed 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in Solo Acting accordingly, Bella Myers placed 2nd in Storytelling, and Dahlia Negrete-Regagnon, Ryan Rutherford, and Emily Cardwell placed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in TV accordingly. Along with these rankings, notable awards included Dahlia Negrete-Regagnon winning Best Actor in a One Act and Ms. Downing winning Coach of the Year.
