Published: April 27, 2009 01:13 pm      

BC, Orangefield students win scholarships in annual contest

ORANGE — The 105th Miriam Lutcher Stark Contest in Reading and Declamation was held Sunday afternoon at the Lutcher Theater in downtown Orange as 10 students from the five Orange County school districts competed for $15,000 in scholarships.

Each school district sends an one overall winner in the declamation and one in the interpretive reading category to compete in the County Finals against representatives from the other school districts.

A reported 185 students from West Orange-Stark High, Little Cypress-Mauriceville, Bridge City, Orangefield and Vidor High Schools competed overall before being narrowed down to the 10 winners who participated in the Orange County finals.

Kyle Marshall, a student at Bridge City High School, won the Declamation competition with his laugh-filled speech originally presented by comedian Will Ferrell at a Harvard University Commencement ceremony. Marshall received a $5,000 scholarship as the top prize.

Rebekah Ragsdale, a student at West Orange-Stark High School, claimed second place and a $2,500 scholarship for her interpretation of Mary Fischer’s inspirational speech, “A Whisper of A.I.D.S.”

Other students competing in the declamation contest were James English, Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School; Josh Juneau, Orangefield High School; and Sarah Paine, Vidor High School.

Typically, the Interpretive Reading competition is more humorous or light hearted than the Declamation contest, and this year’s participants supplied plenty of opportunities for laughter and thought.

Devan Ficken, a student at Orangefield High School, won first place and the $5,000 scholarship for her laugh-filled tale, “America’s Next Top Object,” which depicted a reality show contest between inanimate objects: an alarm clock, a cell phone, a remote control and an automobile.

Second place and a $2,500 scholarship went to Tinesha Mix, a student at West Orange-Stark High School, for her telling of “The Kids Table,” by J.P. Fugler.

Other students competing in the Interpretive Reading contest included Hailey Tally, Bridge City High School; Ryan Bowlen, Vidor High School; and Emily Hughes, Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School.

This year’s school to host the event was Orangefield High School. Prelude and interlude music was supplied by the Bobcat Trio, and Shawn McAlpin, OHS principal, presented awards to this year’s winners.

Judges were Dr. Nicki Michalski, Lamar University-Beaumont; Ms. Kristen Hunt, Lamar University-Beaumont; and Angel San Juan, Fox 4 News.

All 10 participating students also received a gold watch, which were presented by Sue Harris, Education Coordinator of the Stark Museum of Art.



Tommy Mann Jr. is a reporter for The Orange Leader. He can be reached at 409-883-3571, Ext. 2619 or tmann@orangeleader.com