Hermantown junior Paul Marinos won the Class AA Championship in Serious Interpretation of Prose at the 2026 Minnesota State Speech Tournament last weekend at Park Center High School in Brooklyn Park, Minn. Marinos was one of six speakers competing for the Hermantown Speech Team at the event, with the squad placing 10th overall, its highest finish in program history.
Sophomore Izzy Lampi placed sixth in Humorous Interpretation and junior Alee DeVlieger placed sixth in Creative Expression. The three speakers advanced to the final round of competition in their respective categories following three preliminary competition rounds.
Freshman Tessa Sibell Scheppy also competed in Humorous Interpretation, senior Onida Jashari competed in Original Oratory and seventh grader Linnea Wentzel competed in Extemporaneous Speaking.
The team is led by head coach Marissa Stifter and assistant coaches Thomas Kaczor and Meghan Lozinski.