Speech Team places 4th at prestigious "Holly Fest" Tournament

Thirteen students on the CM Forensics team made the finals in the annual Natick High School "Holly Fest" on December 19th. Jhovani Vonleh '12 won the top speaker prize for receiving nothing but 1st place in every individual competition through the tournament.

Other winners on the 4th-place CM team included:
John Federico '11 (1st - Radio)
Chris Masterson '10 (2nd - Original Oratory)
Jhovani Vonleh '12, Thomas Foley '12, Nick Leney '11, and Ryan Lemoie '12 (2nd - TV News Team)
Frank Theodat '11 (3rd - Novice Reading)
Dave Consigli '12, Andrew Rogantino '12, Kevin Donnelly '12, and Mark Woodall '12 (3rd - TV News Team)
Jhovani Vonleh '12 (4th - Declamation)
Pat Simas '10 (4th - Dramatic Performance)
Laroy Streat '12 (5th - Prose)
Kevin Donnelly '12 (6th - Declamation)
Kevin Gill '13 (6th - Radio)
Kevin Verity '10 (6th - Original Oratory)
Chris Traynor '13 (7th- Declamation)

"The team should be proud of the success we shared at the Holly Fest," said head coach Rob Croteau '93. "Our team demonstrated great strength in the prelims, and this performance put us within points of being in the top 3 at a major tournament. Congratulations to the entire team for a week of great focus and a willingness to put in long hours."

Croteau also thanked the assistant coaching efforts of CM Forensics alumni Steve Murphy, Greg Cunningham, Joe McLean and Brian Murphy, who worked with many of the students during weekly practices. Alumni who judged at the tournament included John Labelle, Tim Sullivan, Ryan Sullivan, Michael Giovanucci, Brian Murphy, Mike Macchi, Mark Macchi, Brendan Ahern, Derek Powell, and Liam Concannon.

"It was great to see our alums come back and give back to the program," said Croteau.

The team was also grateful to Cindy Murphy, Maureen Donnelly and Elizabeth Traynor for judging.