Alex Tilson, a freshman at Wadsworth High School, won first place at the state tournament in the Humorous Interpretation category of Speech and Debate. The tournament took place at South Range High School in Canfield, Ohio, on March 6 and 7.
Tilson competed alongside other members of Wadsworth’s Speech and Debate team who also placed in multiple events at the state level. Former Speech and Debate state champions Jack Mallory and Kendall Randolph placed third in Duo Interpretation. Lucy Straub placed fifth in Informative Speaking. Corbin Demiter was a semifinalist in Humorous Interpretation, while Riley Gibson and Daniel Thuestad were both semifinalists in Congressional Debate. Connor McNeill was a quarterfinalist in International Extemporaneous Speaking, and Jamie Walter was a double octafinalist in Lincoln-Douglas Debate.
The tournament brought together some of the top high school Speech and Debate competitors from across the state. Competitors advanced through several rounds throughout the two-day event, including preliminary rounds, elimination rounds, and finals. Advancing to the final round in any category requires consistently high scores from judges throughout the competition.
Tilson began competing in Speech and Debate during the 2025–2026 school year after encouragement from friends in the theater department and members of the school’s Speech and Debate team. Before joining, he had experience performing on stage through theater, which helped him become comfortable presenting in front of audiences.
“I think I always had my eyes set on the state podium, but I never actually thought that I had the skills as a novice to get there,” Tilson said. “But in my first tournament of the year, I got eight and just kept shooting to get first.”
Throughout the season, Tilson continued competing in tournaments and improving his performance in Humorous Interpretation, an event in which competitors perform a memorized piece designed to entertain an audience through storytelling, character voices, and comedic timing.
“He’s really, really good, a novice champing states isn’t something you see every day, and the fact that he did is really sick,” said Chloe Clendenning, a junior in Program Oral Interpretation.
For many competitors, placing at the state level can take years of practice and multiple seasons of competition. Winning a category as a first-year competitor is uncommon, especially in events that rely heavily on performance technique and experience.
“I feel like I don’t deserve it because they’re seniors who have worked years after years after year,” said Tilson.
During the final round of Humorous Interpretation, audience members were allowed to watch the competitors who had advanced through the semifinal rounds, meaning that there was a bigger audience to perform infront of.
“And then I gave it my all, all the judges and audience laughed, they laughed a lot,” said Tilson.
