Win marks 18th consecutive state championship
Aila Boyd
aboyd@mainstreetnewspapers.com
The Salem Forensics team made history Saturday, March 23, by winning its 18th consecutive state championship.
The team dominated the Class 4 field with a 40-17 win over second place EC Glass, it’s long-time regional rival, with six individual state championships and three runners-up.
The victory broke the VHSL consecutive championship record set by Christiansburg wrestling for any academic or athletic VHSL team. Salem also now ties Madison County with the most total state championships in forensics.
“Eighteen years is a long time. Longer than almost all of the students on the team have been alive. Certainly, I didn’t think when this started in 2006 we would continue winning until now,” Mark Ingerson, coach, said. “Well, maybe in my wildest dreams I hoped it would happen. However, it’s a testament to the consistency we have had gaining new students and then developing their talent. I’m most proud of that. That’s a team effort, not just a responsibility of the coaches. We’ve had over 200 students go through the program during that time and a large percentage medaled at states. Ultimately, we have a consistently high number place at states, a majority of those win their events, and it has led to victory consistently.”
Senior Kade Lakin led the team with his third straight Serious Duo championship. Lakin’s first win in 2022 was with his brother Nash, last year he won with Grasyn Mitchell, and this year with sophomore Bella Poarch.
Along with Poarch, Salem had several first-time state champions: Lebron Parsell in Extemporaneous Speaking, Claire Rawlins in Impromptu Speaking, Noah Lovern in Storytelling, Charlie Bain in Humorous, and 8th grader Tara Farrokhpoor in Prose. Eighth graders are eligible to compete in varsity level academic competitions for the VHSL. Poarch, Rawlins, Lovern, and Farrokhpoor are all in their first year on the team. Thirty of Salem’s 40 points were scored by their state champions, with five team points awarded for a first place, three for a second, and one for third.
“This team has been led by outstanding seniors, Kyra Netting and Kade Lakin. They are great leaders, teachers, and teammates and have been welcoming and inclusive to all the new students we’ve added this season. We only had four members who had ever medaled at states on this team and I was worried about that coming into the season. However, with Kade and Kyra’s leadership, we were able to integrate and develop new talent and see 8 new state medalists at states,” Ingerson said.
Medalists for the 2024 VHSL Class 4 Champions
State champions Kade Lakin (12th) and Bella Poarch (10th), Serious Duo
State champion Lebron Parsell (12th), Extemporaneous Speaking
State champion Noah Lovern (11th), Storytelling
State champion Claire Rawlins (11th), Impromptu Speaking
State champion Charlie Bain (11th), Humorous Interpretation
State champion Tara Farrokhpoor (8th), Prose Interpretation
Runner-up Kyra Netting (12th), Poetry Interpretation
Runner-up Connor Smythers (11th) and Colton Easter (11th), Humorous Duo
Runner-up Lacey Stratton (10th), Humorous Interpretation
3rd place Rebekah Steinweg (10th), Extemporaneous Speaking
Zane Easter (12th) in Impromptu Speaking, Parneet Gill (10th) in Original Oratory, and Kaylee Sutphin (9th) in Serious Dramatic also competed for Salem at the state championships.
“We won three events at the Super Region (state semi-finals) and I think we were a little disappointed in that. Students came and worked with me and we had to recut and fix some speaking and performance problems. The students were very open and receptive to feedback and new ideas. That led to six events championships at states and we scored more points at states than we did in the semi-finals. I was extremely excited about that. It’s a great lesson to learn that focusing on improving leads to better outcomes,” Ingerson said.
Salem Forensics facts and figures
- Since 2004, Salem has won 99 individual event championships
- The team now has had 186 top three finishes at states, with 99 firsts, 54 seconds and 33 thirds.
- Salem has won 15 consecutive Humorous Interpretation state titles (and 18 in total)
- Kade Lakin becomes the 10th Salem Forensics competitor to win at least three individual state championships in their career.
- Salem swept the top two spots in Humorous Interpretation for the 7th time in the event and the 24th time across all events.
- Tara Farrokhpoor is the first Salem 8th grader to medal at states (top three) and did so in style with a state championship.
- Lebron Parsell (1st Forensics/3rd Debate) joins Emma Snead (1st Forensics/4th Debate), Sami Hoyer (2nd Forensics/1st Debate), and Jerrel Ledbetter (1st Forensics 3x/2nd Debate) as the only state medalists in school history in both Forensics and Debate
- Parsell (1st) and Rebekah Steinweg (3rd) became the first teammates in the program’s history to make the top 3 in Extemporaneous Speaking in the same year.
- After Saturday’s results, Kyra Netting, Kade Lakin, and Connor Smythers became the 40th, 41st, and 42nd Salem Forensicators to place in the top three at states at least three times in their career. Nine of the 42 accomplished that feat four times.
