Six members of the Fairmont Speech Team who will compete in the National Speech and Debate tournament next week in Des Moines, Iowa. From left are Allie Streit, Oliver Thedens, Grace Simpson, Bel Lutterman, Dominick Lund-May and Leon Yang.

FAIRMONT — On the road towards victory, Fairmont Speech and Debate qualifiers for the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) Tournament will travel to Des Moines on Sunday, June 16th. The six national qualifiers, including their three coaches, will have an official nationals send-off from the Fairmont High School (FHS) ‘horseshoe’ entrance at 9:45 a.m., traveling by vehicle to the Iowa event center.

National qualifiers representing the school are: Dominick Lund-May (Incoming senior, International Extemporaneous Speaking), Leon Yang (Incoming sophomore, Humorous Interpretation, Oliver Thedens (Incoming senior, Duo Interpretation, Supplemental category: Expository), Grace Simpson (Incoming senior, Duo Interpretation, Supplemental category: Expository), Belinda “Bel” Lutterman (Incoming junior, Supplemental category: Expository), Allie Streit (Incoming sophomore, Supplemental category: Prose) Their coaches are Kathleen Walker, Erik Walker and Miles Duffey

Kathleen Walker excitedly spoke about the Fairmont team prior to the National depart-to-the-tournament date. She noted that this group of students is the largest group of national qualifiers Fairmont has brought to the tournament. The coaches are overjoyed to share an incredible experience with not only the team–but the family that was founded within the Fairmont Speech Team since the past months and seasons prior.

“I love hanging out with them. A three-hour drive with the team in the van is a dream. They’re fun, positive, excited…And when they’re stressed it’s okay. They lean on each other for support and they challenge each other,” Kathleen said, adding, “We had a fantastic season [this past year], and it’s because [the team] is so willing to put in everything possible to have the best round possible.”

Erik Walker concurred with his wife’s statements.

“It’s great! One thing about Nationals is that everyone does it a little differently. It becomes a test of, ‘Does your local tradition work in the National circuit?'” He said.

Duffey, a Fairmont and NSDA speech alumnus himself, is elated to be returning to the NSDA tournament as a coach to guide his proteges and encourage them throughout the competition. Duffey often affirms to the qualifiers about their potential to not only make it to the national tournament itself, but place as one of the best in the country in their respective category.

“I’m very excited,” said Duffey.

Yang expressed his desire to win in his category. He seized a gold medal in the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) State Speech Tournament, and seeks to add a Nationals trophy to his collection of victories.

“I want to win,” He said, determinedly. “I really want to win.”

Yang shared that he will attempt Impromptu, a seven minute event split between preparing a participant’s speech and performing said speech.

Streit will be bringing a supplemental event to the competition, Prose. Streit is an experienced performer in the dramatic-excerpt category. However, she will bring a brand new script to the tournament, which requires ‘cutting’ or slimming or the script that she selected. Streit expressed nervousness, but overall anticipation of going to her first Nationals tournament.

Along with Streit, Lutterman will bring a supplemental event, Expository, to the national tournament. As an expository entry, Lutterman will be tasked to present a five minute informative speech.

“I’m feeling-What am I feeling? It’s my second time writing a speech. I’m excited to try something new, and spend a lot of time with my team. I want to learn a lot, but also compete a lot,” Lutterman said with a chuckle.

Lund-May, competing in International Extemporaneous Speaking, will have thirty total minutes to prepare his speech prior to his round of judges, with a thirty-second grace period at the end. Dominick will take a supplemental Impromptu piece as well. Lund-May shared that there is a lot of stress that comes from the competition, but much confidence is gained during the experience. He concluded that he is anticipating learning a lot.

Simpson and Thedens will be teaming up this summer to present an outstanding collaborative performance with the Duo Interpretation category. Both Simpson and Thedens, while their primary category lies in teamwork, both participants will be bringing expository supplemental events. The pair said they were nervous, given how close they are to the competition date, but overjoyed about their opportunity to go to nationals with each other and their team.

The NSDA Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa will last from June 16th to June 21st. On the latter day, the six participants and the three coaches of Fairmont will return to Fairmont that late evening.