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Andrew Harper
SHAKOPEE — Russell-Tyler-Ruthton senior Andrew Harper wrote a piece of history during the Minnesota State High School League Class A state speech meet last Friday.
Harper became the first RTR student to become a state champion since 1977 when then seventh-grader George Jorgenson took top honors in the humorous division.
Harper was le creme de la creme in the storytelling category during a stellar performance at Shakopee High School.
“It’s been something he’s been working toward for six years,” RTR head speech coach Erick Harper, Andrew’s father, said. “He set goals for himself, persevered, and worked hard to improve. Now, you see the results.”
The storytelling division features a random draw. Fifteen stories were chosen at the beginning of the season.
In the finals, Andrew Harper drew one of his favorites: “Story of a Dam,” a folktale.
The work is about animals working together to build a dam during a longtime drought. Principal characters are a baboon, leopard, hyena, rabbit and mountain tortoise. A jackal serves as its antagonist.
Harper’s presentation covered seven minutes, and his performance wowed a panel of five judges. Three of the judges ranked Andrew first, and the remaining two had him second. Two Melrose students also placed high in Jada Rausch and Zoe Hoeschen.
RTR senior Joslynn Drietz and sophomore Jenaya Drietz also made the final round among the 15 RTR speech students who qualified for state.
Joslynn Drietz earned seventh in dramatic interpretation. The musically talented Drietz also features in RTR’s theater productions. Erick Harper said Drietz plans on pursuing a music career as both a pianist and vocalist.
Jenaya Drietz placed eighth in poetry. The skilled Drietz edited and assembled poems based on a single theme: war. Coach Harper said Drietz used works from a wide range of authors.
Two more students nearly advanced to the finals, missing out by just a single point: Alyssa Harper in humorous and Aaron Harper in creative expression.
These days, Jorgenson runs a financial services company in Tyler, and he’s appeared in several play productions including Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple” as Felix Unger.
Andrew Harper will be attending Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, this fall, majoring in youth ministry with a concentration in music.
Coach Harper is understandably thrilled to see his son notch the same achievement as Jorgenson.
Eight contestants advanced to the finals based on the points they accrued during three preliminary rounds.
PAS speech coach Monica Sullivan served as a judge and room manager for the Class A session, and she was also a room manager for Saturday’s Class AA event. Samantha Davis, another PAS coach, also was a room manager Friday.
Moorhead repeated as Class AA state champion with 88 points, double what Eastview scored. Mounds Park Academy claimed the Class A crown with 69 points, comfortably ahead of Melrose and Big South Conference school Fairmont.