Southeastern NEWS
Southeastern Louisiana University
Public Information Office
publicinfo@selu.edu
SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
Date: 3/30/01
Contact: Christina Chapple 56
BATON ROUGE MAGNET, ST. PAUL'S WIN FOREIGN LANGUAGES FESTIVAL
HAMMOND -- Baton Rouge Magnet High School and the St. Paul School in Covington
shared top honors at the annual Southeastern Louisiana University Foreign Language Festival.
Baton Rouge Magnet was chosen "Best School in French" and St. Paul's students took
home the "Best School in Spanish" honors at the annual festival, which hosted 790 students from
28 area high schools. The top schools were chosen based on the number of first and second place
individual awards in Spanish and French poetry, prose, extemporaneous speaking, music, drama
and native speakers competitions.
Baton Rouge Magnet won "Overall Best Performance by a School" in French and
Spanish in the Tier One (more than 600 students) category, while St. Thomas Aquinas High
School in Hammond won the award in Tier Two (less than 600 students).
In addition to Baton Rouge Magnet and St. Paul's, participating schools were St.
Scholastica Academy, Grace King High School, Archbishop Chappelle High School,
Redemptorist High School, Franklinton High School, John Ehret High School, Mt. Carmel
Academy, L.W. Higgins High School, Slidell High School, St. Joseph's Academy, Helen Cox
Junior High, Central High School, St. Mary's Academy, Donaldsonville High School, Northlake
Christian School, McKinley High School, Catholic High School, De La Salle High School,
Ponchatoula High School, Riverdale Academy, Mandeville High School, Walker High School,
Albany High School, St. Amant High School, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, and Live Oak
High School.
In the French music category, school winners were Donaldsonville High School, first; St.
Joseph's Academy, second; and Mandeville High School, third. The French play or drama
winners were Live Oak High School, first; Walker High School, second; Baton Rouge Magnet,
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third.
In Spanish music, Ponchatoula High took first place; Mt. Carmel Academy, second, and
Northlake Christian School, third. Baton Rouge High was first in Spanish play or drama, with
Central High School, second, and St. Scholastica Academy, third.
Individual winners, listed by school, were:
Archbishop Chappelle High School: Holly Casard, first place French poetry, fourth
year; Mamina Turegano, third place, Spanish poetry, third year; Natalie Meguerditchian, third
place, Spanish poetry, fourth year; Kyra Aguilar, second place, Spanish native speakers, poetry;
Brandy Bentel, third place, Spanish prose, fourth year; Lisandra Hogan, first place, Spanish
extemporaneous speaking, first year; Marie Chenowith, second place, Spanish extemporaneous
speaking, third year; Liane McGinnis, third place, Spanish extemporaneous speaking, fourth
year.
Baton Rouge Magnet High School: Elizabeth Nikonova, second place, French poetry
second year; Cerissa Taylor, first place, French poetry, third year; Siddharth Srivastava, second
place, French poetry, fourth year; Sandra Keller, first place, French prose, third year; Sanmati
Rao, first place, French prose, fourth year; Roukya Rhym Guisse, first place, French native
speakers, prose; Alison Landry, first place, French extemporaneous speaking, second year;
Lakedra Pam, third place, French extemporaneous speaking, fourth year; Emily Lambeth, third
place, Spanish poetry, second year; Dana Bajoie, first place, Spanish prose, fourth year; Erica
Jordan, first place Spanish extemporaneous speaking, fourth year; Valerie Berryhill, first place,
Spanish native speakers, prose.
Catholic High School: Gordon Walker, first place, French prose, second year; Evan
Villarrubia, first place, French extemporaneous speaking, third year.
Central High School: Jennifer Johnson, first place, Spanish prose, first year; Jared
Philbert, first place, Spanish extemporaneous speaking, second year.
De La Salle High School: Eliana McCafferey, first place, French extemporaneous
speaking, fourth year; Lee Payton, first place, Spanish poetry, first year; Sarah Roth, first place,
Spanish poetry, third year; Charles Rareshide, second place, Spanish prose, first year; Kristina
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Robinson, second place, Spanish prose, second year; Colby Adams, second place Spanish prose,
fourth year; Ashley Carroll, third place, Spanish extemporaneous speaking, third year; Clarissa
Alvarado, third place, Spanish native speakers, extemporaneous speaking.
Donaldsonville High School: Abigail Moonkissoon, third place, French poetry, first
year.
Franklinton High School: Holly Kliesch, first place, French extemporaneous speaking,
first year; Alfredo Gallardo, third place, Spanish native speakers, poetry.
Grace King High School: Kikia Kotsis, third place, Spanish prose, second year; Randol
Mendoza, third place, Spanish native speakers, prose.
John Ehret High School: Trevor Riley, first place, French poetry, second year; Hong Le,
second place, French poetry, third year; Rachel Davis, third place, French prose, fourth year;
Jodie Acosta, third place, French extemporaneous speaking, first year; Lauren Myerscough,
second place, French extemporaneous speaking, second year; Chris Goins, second place, French
extemporaneous speaking, third year.
L.W. Higgins High School: Melissa Roberson, third place, Spanish poetry, first year;
Tiffany Vega, third place, Spanish extemporaneous speaking, second year.
Live Oak High School: Brian Forbes, second place, French poetry, first year; Jennifer
Mayeaux, third place, French poetry, third year; Krystal Williamson, third place, French poetry,
fourth year; Ryan Cortez, first place, French prose, first year; Lindsey Moreau, second place,
French prose, second year; Melicia Lemoine, second place, French prose, third year; Michael
Hill, second place, French prose, fourth year; Lauren Sachse, second place, Spanish poetry, third
year; Kelly Westmoreland, third place, Spanish prose, first year; Christen Jabbia, first place,
Spanish prose, second year.
Mandeville High School: Stefan Zingerle, second place, French extemporaneous
speaking, fourth year; Vanessa Stegeman, first place, French native speakers, extemporaneous
speaking.
Mt. Carmel Academy: Chela Canler, third place, French prose, first year; Irene Pallais,
third place, French extemporaneous speaking, third year.
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Ponchatoula High School: Erin Klein, third place, French poetry, second year; Lacey
Burns, second place, Spanish poetry, second year; Adam Price, third place, Spanish prose, third
year.
St. Amant High School: Sophie Brignac, second place, French native speakers,
extemporaneous speaking.
St. Joseph's Academy: Danielle Bellone, first place, French poetry, first year; Holly
Briggs, third place, Frnech prose, second year; Rachel Vernon, third place, French prose, third
year; Candis Mayweather, first place, Spanish extemporaneous speaking, third year.
St. Mary's Academy: DeKeisha Porter, first place, Spanish poetry, third year.
The St. Paul School: Mpho Sempasa, third place, French extemporaneous speaking,
second year; Jack Collens, first place, Spanish poetry, second year; Paul Garner, second place,
Spanish poetry, fourth year; Marcelo Lopez, first place, Spanish native speakers, poetry;
Matthew
Averill, second place, Spanish extemporaneous speaking, first year; Ian Colwell, second place,
Spanish extemporaneous speaking, second year; Joey La Martina, second place, Spanish
extemporaneous speaking, fourth year; Patricio Jaik Chaveznava, first place, Spanish native
speakers, extemporaneous speaking; Andres Rosendiz, second place, Spanish native speakers,
prose.
St. Scholastica Academy: Brittany Carter, second place, Spanish poetry, first year;
Frances Frederick, second place, Spanish prose, third year;
St. Thomas Aquinas High School: Kenneth Gumpert, third place, Spanish
extemporaneous speaking, first year; Justen Walker, first place, Spanish poetry, fourth year;
Maria Sanchez, second place, Spanish native speakers, extemporaneous speaking.
Walker High School: Charity Gomez, second place, French prose, first year; Daniela
Denk, second place, French extemporaneous speaking, first year.
-SLU-
Press release available online at www.selu.edu/NewsEvents/PublicInfoOffice/newsp01.htm