Eischens is repeat champion
In an astounding display of speaking ability and passion, the St Clair Speech team sent six speakers to the MSHSL State Speech tournament in Shakopee on April 19. Three speakers: Grace Freitag, William Wellmann, and Gavin Eischens advanced to the final rounds with Eischens pulling off an incredible repeat as Champion in Poetry.
Before they embarked on their journey to State, a brief pep fest was held at St Clair on April 18 to celebrate the team’s success throughout the season and congratulate the State speakers. Coach Doug Smith spoke on his team’s achievements during the season such as “winning our tournament back in March” and “finishing in the top three as a team for much of the season.” Additionally, Smith noted that the six speakers attending State was “the most we have ever sent as a school.” For the final mention of an achievement, Smith announced that Eischens was awarded All-State in Speech and that “this is an incredible honor with an extremely high bar to receive it.” 92 students throughout Minnesota received the honor.
Smith turned his attention to the State speakers and highlighted each one’s journey over the season. For Ana Ordaz, Smith was overjoyed at her advancing to State as the speaker “hadn’t finaled at a tournament all season until sections and then advanced to State…that is not easy to do.” Freitag would attend her third State tournament and for much of the season, would finish second to Eischens in Prose and Poetry, but she finally reached the peak at Sections. Eischens would return to State in Poetry for a chance to repeat as Champion; Smith explained that Eischens “has been a great leader for this team and we’re hopeful that he can repeat at State.” Smith would give brief anecdotes for Wellmann, Zoe Johnson, and Olivia McGowan as well, but made it a point to note that St Clair had advanced “two speakers in two categories to State.” Ordaz and Wellmann in Drama; Johnson and McGowan in Storytelling. Activities Director Brad O’Donnell handed out State Speech t-shirts to each competitor as Eischens took the mic to congratulate his team and coaches for a successful season, “It’s been a really great year for us and it’s going to be hard to say goodbye to this team, but the six of us are going to give everything we have at State. Go team!”
The six speakers gave everything they had at the State tournament and when the dust settled, only three advanced as Wellmann, Freitag, and Eischens advanced to the final rounds. Eight speakers advanced to the final rounds. Wellmann found recent success in Dramatic Interpretation late into the season which earned him a first place at Sections–he would finish in sixth at State. Freitag finally tasted victory as she took first place in Prose at Sections–she would finish seventh at State. Eischens had been an absolute juggernaut all season as he finished first place in Poetry at every tournament but one this season. His dominant senior season ended with a rare feat of repeating as a State Champion in Poetry. It’s not often a small school like St Clair will have a State Champion in Speech, but to have a two-time Champion is an exceptional milestone.
The six speakers gave everything they had at the State tournament and when the dust settled, only three advanced as Wellmann, Freitag, and Eischens advanced to the final rounds. Eight speakers advanced to the final rounds. Wellmann found recent success in Dramatic Interpretation late into the season which earned him a first place at Sections–he would finish in sixth at State. Freitag finally tasted victory as she took first place in Prose at Sections–she would finish seventh at State. Eischens had been an absolute juggernaut all season as he finished first place in Poetry at every tournament but one this season. His dominant senior season ended with a rare feat of repeating as a State Champion in Poetry. It’s not often a small school like St Clair will have a State Champion in Speech, but to have a two-time Champion is an exceptional milestone.
Smith had plenty of praise to go around after the tournament and started with congratulating all six of his students who qualified for State, “It was very exciting that three out of our six made it to Finals and finished in the top eight. The three who didn’t qualify really learned what it takes to make it to that next level of competition.” Smith has been a speech coach for several decades and has coached a few Speech Champions in his time–including two other back-to-back Champions–and he glowing remarks about Eischen’s performance at State and his incredible achievements, “Gavin is a rare individual that doesn’t come around all that often. All the hard work he put into his speeches paid off with this back-to-back title in the same category. He wasn’t afraid to try new things and push the envelope to truly understand the poetry. All of the coaches and his team are so very proud of him.”
Eischens joins rare company by becoming a two-time champion in Poetry as his commitment to improvement, listening to his coaches feedback, and harnessing exceptional talent caps off an incredible senior season for him.. Of course, the St Clair speech team should be commended as a whole as their six speakers gave everything they had at the State tournament. While some did not advance to the final rounds or place higher, the experience gained from attending State will no doubt inspire the speakers to push themselves to the next level for the 2025 season.
