Many students competed in the 111th Miriam Lutcher Stark Reading Contest, held at the LCM Auditorium on March 1. Freshman Spencer Johns placed first in Declamation, while junior Vinny Hale won the Interpretive Reading part of the school finals.

For the Declamation category, Johns read the Pearl Harbor address to the Nation by Franklin D. Roosevelt.

“I chose the Pearl Harbor Address because I’ve always been interested in World War II and this speech kicked off the U.S. involvement,” he said.

In the Interpretive category, Hale presented “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe.

“It feels very good to know that the practice paid off and I won,” Hale said.

Practice is key for success in this contest. According to Johns, every contest is a new experience and calming your nerves is very important. Both Hale and Johns read their speeches quite often to prepare and got pointers from those listening. Johns said winning this competition was a huge accomplishment for him as he is only a freshman and had no previous experience in speaking.

“It feels great,” Johns said, “Especially when you go against the exemplary competition that Aaron Rose, Shri Murthy, Justice Peveto, and Chloe Fisher put up.”

One added incentive for winning this contest is the scholarship money awarded to those who do well. The next competition for Johns and Hale is the county finals, where they will compete against winners from other schools.

“I hope to practice and do well at that competition as well,” Hale said.