Eight members of Oakville’s Speech and Debate team competed in the Jefferson City Capital Classic on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 30-31. Two of them excelled in their events.

Oakville was one in 23 schools competing. There was a bracket made consisting of all the students in four separate events. There were two competitions on Friday, and two on Saturday that lead to the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the championship.

The Sona sisters, Ellie and Emma, performed exceptionally in the Congressional Debate. The top 14 moved on to to the finals. Ellie placed first, followed by Emma getting second. Olivia Rauls (9), a novice, went 3-1 in her debate and came in 11th out of 40.

“It was exciting,” Ellie said. “A lot of people went that we don’t normally compete with, and it was cool getting to see something different.”

In Ellie’s separate debate, the Championship Lincoln-Douglas Debate, she went 7-0.

There are 44 schools in the Eastern Missouri District, and Oakville is placed 13. Out of all the students, Ellie is ranked first.

“She’s good,”  Ed Taylor, Speech and Debate coach, said. “I think she’s got a really strong shot at Nationals, she works hard.”