Literary team places second; four students win region title

The members of the LCHS Literary Team are: (front row, l-r) T.J. Carani, Nikolas Spens, Abigail Minor, (back row) Asonta Johnson, Ashley Rivera, Julie Bennett, and Sarah Herring. Not pictured are Raphael Albea and Amanda Dion.

Although the LCHS Literary Team came in second at the Region 7-A Literary Meet, four students placed first in their respective events and will go on to compete in the state literary meet.

These students were:

.. Nikolas Spens, first place, Boys Essay.

.. Abigail Minor, first place, Girls Essay. Minor was also named the state runner-up in Original Oratory at the Georgia Forensic Coaches Association (GFCA) State Championships held Saturday, February 23, in Carrollton. Students, both males and females, from all five classifications, competed in the tournament making Minor's win a truly outstanding ac- complishment.

.. T.J. Carani, first place, Boys Extemporaneous Speaking. This marks the second consecutive region title for Carani in Extemporaneous Speaking.

.. Ashley Rivera, first place, Girls Solo.

Other Lincoln County students placing in the meet were:

.. Asonta Johnson, second place, Girls Extemporaneous Speaking.

.. Julie Bennett, Sarah Herring, and Ashley Rivera, second place, Girls Trio.

.. Raphael Albea, third place, Boys Dramatic Interpretation.

.. Amanda Dion, third place, Girls Dramatic Interpretation.

The region literary meet was held Tuesday, March 4, at GMC in Milledgeville.

According to Carolee Hobbins, choral music teacher at LCHS and the musical events coach for the literary meet, "Ashley Rivera sang circles around her competitors in Girls Solo - there was absolutely no competition for her at the region level. I feel confident that she will hold her own at the state level.

"She is a gifted, young singer, who has so much potential as a musician, and I look forward to working with her again next year."

Hobbins went on to note that the Girls Trio also performed very well. "The trio from GMC beat our girls by only three points so it was a very close contest. Both trios sang selec- tions at the same difficulty level - I think the difference was the blend of the three voices.

"Our girls sang with good musical style; their phrasing was beautiful; and their presentation of themselves and their music was all I could ask for," she continued. "I was so pleased with their performance and feel the judging was appropriate."

In her comments, Lee Robinson, literary coordinator for LCHS as well as the speaking and writing events coach, said, "I was very proud of the efforts of our speaking and writing students this year. I was particularly confident about T.J.'s (Carani) chances in Extemporaneous Speaking and Nik (Spens) and Abigail's (Minor) in Essay.

"T.J. qualified for nationals at a recent NFL(National Forensic League) district event, and Nik and Abigail did very well on the AP (Advanced Placement) English exam last year. However, you just never know how things are going to go when subjective judging is involved."

In conclusion, Robinson stated that Carani, Spens, and Minor will do an exemplary job of representing the school at the state literary meet. "We're hopeful that we'll have a shot at a state team title given that we'll be competing in four out of 10 events."

The state literary meet will take place Saturday, March 15, at Northside High School in Warner Robins.