On April 25 and 26, 2025, eight students from Lincoln East High School spent two long days yelling at the walls, waving their hands around frantically, and moving their eyebrows in all sorts of ways. No, they’re not insane. They’re dedicated members of the Lincoln East Speech team hoping to punch their ticket to Des Moines, Iowa from June 15 to June 21 for the National Speech and Debate Competition. Last Chance Qualifiers, a tournament that can make or break a dream, has over 2000 kids compete in an online tournament for two days as a last resort for a kid to qualify for nationals if they didn’t make it in their districts tournament. It’s a very challenging thing to accomplish, yet through a lot of hardwork and perseverance, the Lincoln East Speech team qualified three people for nationals through this tournament.
Most district tournaments only take the top two in each event, meaning that a lot of talented individuals lose the opportunity to compete, because it’s very hard to qualify. The Last Chance Qualifiers Tournament provides a chance for those individuals to qualify, however it is a very daunting task to do so. First of all, it’s an online tournament on Zoom with people all over the country competing, so it’s definitely a change from the usual competition. Additionally, only the top 16 in each event qualify, and one event can have anywhere from 80 to 300 people. It’s definitely an intimidating task, yet three talented kids from Lincoln East High School managed to make it: junior Sophia Wang in dramatic interpretation and then two freshmen, Charlie Sanchez-Masi and Wade Combs in duo interpretation.
“Qualifying as a freshman feels like a great honor,” Combs said. “It felt as if the odds of this happening were not plausible.”
Combs and his duo partner, Sanchez-Masi, were elated by their victory, especially since this is their first year doing speech. Yet with great results comes a lot of preparation, and the duo partners made sure to put in the time, even after initially feeling deflated.
“Preparing for the tournament was by far the most difficult part of the whole process mainly due to our lack of motivation at first,” Sanchez-Masi said. “We just barely missed out on qualifying at the national qualifier tournament in early march, and it was a major blow because we were both absolutely gutted. It got to the point where it didn’t even matter to me because of how bad nat quals hurt. Luckily we got back into the groove of things and to prepare we really had to go through and rework every single part of our speech.”
The defeat at the district national qualifier tournament can be very heart deafening. However, that didn’t stop Wang, Combs, and Sanchez-Masi. Thanks to their tireless efforts, they can look forward to a week of exciting yet grueling competition in Des Moines.
Every year, the Lincoln East Speech Team puts extensive hard work into this tournament, and last year was no different with two entries qualifying: Ellie Hiser in oratory and Luke Nash in program of oral interpretation. In fact, not only did Nash qualify through this tournament which by itself is a big deal, he also went on to become a national semifinalist.
“It took a lot of practice and preparation,” Nash said. “When I found out I qualified I was just ecstatic and overjoyed. It was a big accomplishment for me because last year, I went to nationals in duo and it just felt really good to prove to myself that I could do it on my own too. Being in the semifinalist round with the top 14 of the whole country is huge, but I was also just super excited to be there because I really didn’t think I’d make it that far.”
Nash recalls the countless hours of practice he had put in before last chance qualifiers, but it all paid off in the end, and he got a great end to his senior season. While recognizing the talented qualifiers is important, it’s also important to note all the hard work the rest of the last chance competitors put in as well. Junior Amelia Shupbach had a track meet at Lincoln High that day, yet she still managed to compete at this tournament showcasing the dedication the Lincoln East Speech kids have.
“I had to ask the athletic director of Lincoln High to borrow a room to perform in during my rounds,” Shupbach said. “I also had to make sure that my track events wouldn’t overlap with my speech rounds. Last chance was very draining and stressful but was worth it for a shot to compete at nationals. I am glad I got the opportunity to participate in both my track meet and the speech competition.”
Shupbach put in a lot of practice for this tournament, and while she was just short of qualifying, she still sets a good example of the endurance and commitment involved for these tournaments that many are not aware of.
The hard work of the Lincoln East Speech team at the Last Chance Qualifiers Tournament showcases the skill and the dedication of this extracurricular. Let’s hope for a successful tournament at nationals for the three individuals who qualified, and let’s appreciate all the hard work that everyone put in!
