76th Oratorical contestants announced

The American Legion’s 76th High School Oratorical Scholarship Program, "A Constitutional Speech Contest," will be held April 20-21 in Indianapolis at a new location, the Wyndham Indianapolis West hotel.

The contest will begin April 20 at 9:45 a.m. (EDT) with the 53 high school students from across the country competing in the quarterfinals, followed by the semifinals at 3:15 p.m. During both sessions, the participants will present a rehearsed eight- to 10-minute oration on an aspect of the U.S. Constitution in front of judges, as well as a three- to five-minute speech on an assigned topic discourse — a phase of the Constitution selected from Articles and Sections.

The top three semifinal winners will advance to the championship finals on April 21 at 10 a.m. (EDT). Tune in to www.legiontv.org to watch the live streaming of the finals.

The following is a list of the 53 students competing in the 76th Oratorical Contest, and their Legion-sponsored post:

• David Poythress, Leeds, Ala.
• Eugene Shestakov, Anchorage, Alaska., Post 1
• Alex Halvey, Tuscon, Ariz., Post 132
• Danielle Kasey, Houston, Ark., Post 1
• Kate Park, Los Altos, Calif., Post 105
• Tayanna Todd, Monument, Colo., Post 1864
• Kayla Giordano, Salem, Conn., Post 128
• Stephen Morris, Washington, D.C
• Zachary Hession-Smith, Smyrna, Del., Post 18
• Brooke Wade, Tampa, Fla., Post 152
• Caleb Winningham, Stuttgart, Germany
• Leah Dodson, Fayetteville, Ga.
• Christiana Kurashige, Mililani, Hawaii
• Aaron Paul, Post Falls, Idaho, Post 143
• Jacob Custer, Buffalo Grove, Ill., Post 38
• Jana Minich, Lafayette, Ind.
• Nathan Walton, Waukee, Iowa, Post 403
• Lydia Gibson, Topeka, Kan., Post 400
• Victoria Potter, Paducah, Ky., Post 73
• Cody Dedon, Slaughter, La., Post 38
• Victoria Shalk, Sabattus, Maine, Post 135
• Attiya Latif, Hagerstown, Md., Post 211
• Monica Stack, Norwood, Mass., Post 294
• Paul Popa, Saline, Mich., Post 45
• Kelly Erpelding, Kasson, Minn.
• John Brahan, Hattiesburg, Miss., Post 24
• Agnes Rieger, Kansas City, Mo., Post 95
• Shae Rowe, Jefferson City, Mont.
• John Hogue, Omaha, Neb., Post 1
• Trent DeGiovanni, Gardnerville, Nev., Post 4
• Benjamin Drye, Plainfield, N.H., Post 22
• Mackenzie Aronold, Wantage, N.J., Post 213
• Melchior Savarese IV, Tijeras, N.M., Post 13
• Jacob Caldwell, Frewsburg, N.Y., Post 556
• Jacob McHugh, Charlotte, N.C.
• David Shelton, Arvilla, N.D., Post 97
• Carly Nelson, Wickliffe, Ohio
• Curry Coleman, Sterling, Okla.
• Jessica Glaser, Scio, Ore., Post 10
• Yamini Narayan, York, Penn., Post 799
• Lashmy De Jesus-Quinonez, Carolina, Puerto Rico
• Rachel Moyer, Wakefield, R.I.
• Elizabeth Scannell, Goose Creek, S.C., Post 166
• Rachel Schartz, Humboldt, S.D., Post 62
• Victoria Vest, Cleveland, Tenn., Post 81
• Peyton Luke, Valley View, Texas, Post 71
• Adam Robertson, Provo, Utah, Post 13
• Erin Connor, Bridport, Vt., Post 27
• Jordan DiPaola, Strasburg, Va., Post 77
• Ryland Ploeger, Snohomish, Wash., Post 181
• Colleen Isaiah, Charleston, W. Va., Post 20
• Astha Berry, Franklin, Wis., Post 299
• Dakota Frederick, Guernsey, Wyo.