The San Diego Imperial Valley Speech League held its state qualifying tournament in person recently.

Helix Charter High School, although its squad is about half the size of the team before the pandemic, took third place overall and has 11 students qualified to compete in the California State Speech and Debate Championships at the end of April.

Owen Dahlkamp, a senior, was recognized both as the outstanding competitor of the tournament, placing first in three of his events and second in the fourth, and as SDIVSL Speaker of the Year, for amassing the most points throughout the season in speech events.

The students qualifying for the state championship were:

Ruby Anderson and Owen Dahlkamp – Duo Interpretation

Grace Davis and Lendia Wylie – Duo Interpretation

Madison Carey – Original Advocacy

Zaida Donnelly – Original Oratory

Angelina Echaves – Lincoln Douglas Debate

Gracie Goebel – Original Prose Poetry

Tori Guerin – Program Oral Interpretation

Brayden Pape – Original Advocacy

George Stullich – National Extemporaneous