SIMI VALLEY : Royal High Sends 9 to State Speech Tourney
The speech and debate team from Royal High School in Simi Valley dominated a tournament in Newbury Park this weekend, winning two first-place prizes and sending nine students to the state championship.
Senior Willie Ashley won first place in the original prose and poetry category for his poem “Hector the Clown,” about a police officer who mistakenly beats a child to death and then tries to redeem himself by performing as a clown.
Royal coach Judith Haren said the poem was written in “perfect iambic pentameter.”
Junior Michelle Campbell won first place in the thematic interpretation category for a talk about “women on the edge,” including a discussion of dating after divorce.
The weekend tournament in Newbury Park was a qualifying event for the state tournament to be held in May in San Bernardino. Of 21 spots awarded, Royal students won nine, Haren said.
“We’re really very proud,” Haren said. “This was really exciting for us.”
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