Mount Pleasant High School junior, Connelly Cowan, won her second UIL state championship in Informative Extemporaneous Speaking on Wednesday, May 26 in the lobby of the Residence Inn in Frisco. It was a back-to-back win, technically speaking, as Cowan was the reigning state champion from 2019 and the event was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With COVID restrictions relaxing, the team of Cowan, Isabella Greco, and Ryan Sharp travelled to Frisco for a more real experience and competed virtually from their hotel.
Cowan, Greco, and Sharp had to advance out of both District and Regionals to earn their spots at the state meet. Cowan was named the District Champion in Informative Extemp and then went on to claim the Regional Championship. Sharp placed 3rd at both the District and Regional meets. In Persuasive Extemp, Greco placed 3rd and improved to 2nd at the Regional meet. In both events, only twelve competitors in all of 5A from across the state make it to the State meet, an amazing accomplishment all by itself.
In both Informative and Persuasive Extemporaneous Speaking, contestants draw five topics, select one, and have thirty minutes to prepare a speech on the chosen topic. Topics are based on current events and include state, national and international levels chosen from the general areas of political, social, economic, educational and cultural interests. The time limit for the oral speech is seven minutes maximum.
On day one, competitors were split into two virtual “rooms” of six. The top three from each room would advance to finals and compete for state medal placement. Cowan placed 1st in her room and was first overall among all 12 competitors. Sharp placed 4th, narrowly missing advancing by just one point. Greco earned a 5th place ranking. Cowan spoke on the topic “What are the causes of recent violent protests in Colombia?” in round one. In finals, she answered “How will Pakistan be affected by America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan?” to claim the 5A state championship.
“Competing at the state meet this year was a much different experience than 2019 for several reasons,” said Cowan. “For starters, it was held virtually, which introduced new delivery challenges as well as concerns about the wifi connection and video quality. Furthermore, I felt like I had more to lose this time around. Defending a state title comes with immense pressure, but in the end, I know that pressure is what pushed me to work hard. I’m so grateful for the dedication of my coaches who have given up countless hours to help me succeed. I’m also grateful for the support and encouragement of my teammates and family for always believing in me, even when I doubted myself.”
The win marked Cowan’s sixth UIL State medal overall in Speech and Debate events with three of those coming from the 2020-2021 school year alone. She now has two gold, two bronze, a 4th and a 5th place medal with her senior year still to go.
MP Speech and Debate will wrap up the year at the NSDA National Tournament in Dallas starting on June 14th. They are coached by Enrique Martinez.