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Spencer Rockwell isn’t Norman Rockwell. But he sure painted a pretty picture at the Colorado State High School Speech and Debate Tournament.
He capped a perfect season with a perfect performance to win the state title in the International Extemporaneous Speaking competition at the state tournament at Arvada West High School in Arvada over the weekend. And he did so in very convincing fashion, posting the top score in every round.
“I didn’t expect that at all. It was exciting,” beamed Rockwell with a perfect smile that looked like it had been painted on his face by the other Rockwell.
The season, however, nearly didn’t get off the ground. The Palisade coach stepped down for personal reasons during the summer. The Bulldogs were without a coach until Rockwell’s parents, Cindy and Steve, took over.
“I got teased about it a lot,” admitted Rockwell. “But it was a benefit because they did a good job keeping me focused and working hard.”
It showed. Rockwell ended his season with a perfect 10-0 mark and his first state title.
He’s no stranger to winning. Last season, he placed third at state as a sophomore. Rockwell qualified for state as a freshman but did not place.
In his state-title run, he defeated more than 100 students in his division. It was one of several divisions at the tournament that attracted 546 students from 84 schools around the state.
“I knew I had to outwork my opponents,” Rockwell said, sporting a championship smile that seemed to go on forever. “I had to show the judges how much work I put into my speeches.”
Rockwell’s division had five rounds. The first three rounds were preliminary rounds from which the field was pared down to 12 for the semifinals. The field was then cut to six after the semifinals.
Each competitor had 30 minutes to compose a seven-minute speech on one of three topics they were assigned. And they could only use information they brought to the competition.
“After that first day, I was nervous. I thought my first two speeches were poorly done,” said Rockwell. “I just felt like they had been choppy.”
After the third preliminary round, Rockwell had butterflies in his stomach. Again, he wasn’t happy with his speech, and he was nervous that he might not make the semifinals.
But he made it. The 12 names were posted on a board, and Rockwell was pumped.
“It was a huge confidence boost because I knew I had a clean slate,” Rockwell said.
At the state tournament, scores from the preliminary rounds were not used in the semifinals. The finalists were determined based on the scores from the semifinal round.
In the semifinals, Rockwell argued convincingly that the United States should continue to give aid to Haiti. He nailed it, with quotes from different officials and statistics to prove his point.
Rockwell was confident he would make the finals.
But his worries from the first day returned. Because in the final round, the scores from all the rounds are used to determine the winner.
“I knew I had to nail that last speech,” Rockwell said. “I had to give a really solid speech.”
The topic was: “Has Cuba started to create a more stable economy?” Again, he was convincing in saying that Cuba was indeed working in a positive direction with its economy.
When the results were released, Rockwell saw his name at the top. And, when he saw the results of each round, his name was in the same place for every round.
Yes, it was a perfect run.
But it’s not over. He’ll savor the moment for a while, but then it’s back to work. In two weeks, a National Forensics League national-qualifying tournament will be held at Air Academy High School in Colorado Springs. Rockwell will be there and he hopes to qualify for the national tournament in Texas.
He qualified last year and made the quarterfinals, which was the top 25 in the country.
So, for the next two weeks, he’ll be spending his evenings scanning newspapers, clipping articles and studying current events in other countries.
And he’ll be doing it with that Norman Rockwell smile.
“It’s fun. I wouldn’t trade this for anything,” he said.
District 51 placers
International Extemporaneous Speaking
Spencer Rockwell, Palisade, 1st
Trey Atkins, Central 12th (semifinalist)
Cross examination Debate
Isabelle Brotman-Evans and Lauren Miller, Grand Junction, 12th (semifinalist)
National Extemporary Speaking
Michael Mudd, Fruita Monument, 8th (semifinalist)
Cy Dinnel, Palisade, 12th (semifinalist)
Interpretation of Poetry
Amy Jackson, Fruita Monument, 7th (semifinalist)
Original Oratory
Jamie Newton, Grand Junction, 11th (semifinalist)
Public Forum Debate
Morgan Williamson and Brian Conklin, Octa-finalist
He capped a perfect season with a perfect performance to win the state title in the International Extemporaneous Speaking competition at the state tournament at Arvada West High School in Arvada over the weekend. And he did so in very convincing fashion, posting the top score in every round.
“I didn’t expect that at all. It was exciting,” beamed Rockwell with a perfect smile that looked like it had been painted on his face by the other Rockwell.
The season, however, nearly didn’t get off the ground. The Palisade coach stepped down for personal reasons during the summer. The Bulldogs were without a coach until Rockwell’s parents, Cindy and Steve, took over.
“I got teased about it a lot,” admitted Rockwell. “But it was a benefit because they did a good job keeping me focused and working hard.”
It showed. Rockwell ended his season with a perfect 10-0 mark and his first state title.
He’s no stranger to winning. Last season, he placed third at state as a sophomore. Rockwell qualified for state as a freshman but did not place.
In his state-title run, he defeated more than 100 students in his division. It was one of several divisions at the tournament that attracted 546 students from 84 schools around the state.
“I knew I had to outwork my opponents,” Rockwell said, sporting a championship smile that seemed to go on forever. “I had to show the judges how much work I put into my speeches.”
Rockwell’s division had five rounds. The first three rounds were preliminary rounds from which the field was pared down to 12 for the semifinals. The field was then cut to six after the semifinals.
Each competitor had 30 minutes to compose a seven-minute speech on one of three topics they were assigned. And they could only use information they brought to the competition.
“After that first day, I was nervous. I thought my first two speeches were poorly done,” said Rockwell. “I just felt like they had been choppy.”
After the third preliminary round, Rockwell had butterflies in his stomach. Again, he wasn’t happy with his speech, and he was nervous that he might not make the semifinals.
But he made it. The 12 names were posted on a board, and Rockwell was pumped.
“It was a huge confidence boost because I knew I had a clean slate,” Rockwell said.
At the state tournament, scores from the preliminary rounds were not used in the semifinals. The finalists were determined based on the scores from the semifinal round.
In the semifinals, Rockwell argued convincingly that the United States should continue to give aid to Haiti. He nailed it, with quotes from different officials and statistics to prove his point.
Rockwell was confident he would make the finals.
But his worries from the first day returned. Because in the final round, the scores from all the rounds are used to determine the winner.
“I knew I had to nail that last speech,” Rockwell said. “I had to give a really solid speech.”
The topic was: “Has Cuba started to create a more stable economy?” Again, he was convincing in saying that Cuba was indeed working in a positive direction with its economy.
When the results were released, Rockwell saw his name at the top. And, when he saw the results of each round, his name was in the same place for every round.
Yes, it was a perfect run.
But it’s not over. He’ll savor the moment for a while, but then it’s back to work. In two weeks, a National Forensics League national-qualifying tournament will be held at Air Academy High School in Colorado Springs. Rockwell will be there and he hopes to qualify for the national tournament in Texas.
He qualified last year and made the quarterfinals, which was the top 25 in the country.
So, for the next two weeks, he’ll be spending his evenings scanning newspapers, clipping articles and studying current events in other countries.
And he’ll be doing it with that Norman Rockwell smile.
“It’s fun. I wouldn’t trade this for anything,” he said.
District 51 placers
International Extemporaneous Speaking
Spencer Rockwell, Palisade, 1st
Trey Atkins, Central 12th (semifinalist)
Cross examination Debate
Isabelle Brotman-Evans and Lauren Miller, Grand Junction, 12th (semifinalist)
National Extemporary Speaking
Michael Mudd, Fruita Monument, 8th (semifinalist)
Cy Dinnel, Palisade, 12th (semifinalist)
Interpretation of Poetry
Amy Jackson, Fruita Monument, 7th (semifinalist)
Original Oratory
Jamie Newton, Grand Junction, 11th (semifinalist)
Public Forum Debate
Morgan Williamson and Brian Conklin, Octa-finalist
