The North Dakota High School Activities Association announced on April 28 the results of the seventy-third annual Class B Speech State Tournament, which took place at Mandan High School on April 25. Students from across the state competed after qualifying through regional or invitational tournaments earlier in the season.
The tournament highlights student achievement in speech and forensics, offering recognition to individuals and teams from various schools. Valley City was named team champion, followed by Dickinson Trinity/New England as runner-up. Washburn finished third, with Enderlin, Our Redeemer’s, and Beach rounding out the top six.
In addition to team honors, Paula Rauschenberger of South Prairie-Max was elected by her peers as the 2026 State B Speech Coach of the Year. The event featured competition in fourteen categories including radio broadcasting, storytelling, extemporaneous programmed reading, humorous duo interpretation, dramatic interpretation, speech to inform and persuade, poetry interpretation, and impromptu speaking.
Top individual awards included Carter Hass of Valley City winning first place in both radio broadcasting and extemporaneous speaking; Anna Peterson of Kenmare taking first in storytelling; Lorelei Emter of Dickinson Trinity/New England leading extemporaneous programmed reading; Ethan Skoog (Richland), Ava Olson (Hatton/Northwood), and Anna Petersen (Kenmare) tying for first in humorous interpretation; Sidney Montgomery (Washburn) winning dramatic interpretation; Jonas Jones (Our Redeemer’s) earning top honors in speech to inform; Nevaeh Garces (Enderlin) placing first in serious prose; Karter Nielsen (Rolette) topping poetry; Cadence Fetsch (Valley City), Faith Gravley (Our Redeemer’s), and Molly Ellerkamp (Dickinson Trinity/New England) tying for first in speech to persuade; Henry Sveen (Park River Area) winning speech to entertain; Natalie Ronderos (Washburn) leading impromptu speaking.
Participants represented a broad range of North Dakota schools with students recognized up to eighth place across all categories. The NDHSAA continues its tradition of supporting academic competitions that showcase student talent throughout the state.
