Downers Grove South Speech Team Repeats as State Champs

The students of Downers Grove South High School's speech team are back-to-back state champions.

DGS took first place at the state speech tournament in Peoria this weekend. It was the last state finals for long-time Head Coach Jan Heiteen, who retires in the spring. Downers Grove North tied for second with Oak Lawn High School. 

The Downers Grove South Speech Team has been called the winningest in the state -- in the past five state finals, DGS took first place four times. 

Student performances in individual events and performance in the round, in which students perform a 15-minute play, generate points that determine the team winner. DGS earned 42 points in the state finals, double the 20 points DGN and Oak Lawn each earned to tie for second. 

Downers Grove South had five individual state champions and one double state champion in individual events: Billy Chengary and Erin C. Walsh for dramatic duet acting, Dan Leahy and Erin M. Walsh for Humorous Duet Acting, Dhara Puvar for Informative Speaking, Erin C. Walsh for Oratorical Declamation and Colleen Derosa for Prose Reading. 

Individual events range from impromptu and informative speaking to dramatic duet acting and poetry reading.

Downers Grove North had its best finish in recent record, with DGN students making it to the final rounds of seven of the 14 events. Full results for both schools are below: 

Dramatic Duet Acting 

DGS: Billy Chengary and Erin C. Walsh, first place 

Extemporaneous Speaking 

DGN: Emily Temple-Wood, second place 

Humerous Duet Acting 

DGS: Dan Leahy and Erin M. Walsh, first place 

DGN: Andy Krupin and Murtaza Kapasi, fifth place

Humerous Interpretation 

DGS: Michelle McCarthy, second place 

Impromptu Speaking 

DGN: Alex Buckley, third place 

Informative Speaking 

DGS: Dhara Puvar, first place 

Oratorical Declamation 

DGS: Erin C. Walsh, first place 

Original Comedy 

DGS: Michelle McCarthy, third place 

Original Oratory 

DGN: Sarah Batchu, fifth place 

Performance in the Round 

DGS: fifth place 

Prose Reading 

DGS: Colleen Derosa, first place

DGN: Devin Collett, finalist

Radio Speaking 

DGN: Andy Krupin, second place 

DGS: Lillie Kase, fifth place

Special Occasion Speaking 

DGN: Heather Johansen, sixth place