Two members of Mercer High School Speech Team placed among the nation's elite at the National Forensic League's annual National Speech Tournament June 15-22 in Charlotte, N.C.

Junior Leah Acker placed in the top 30 in her specialty, international extemporaneous speaking, and she placed 12th in her second event, impromptu speaking.

Sophomore Woody Dixon ranked in the top 60 in his qualifying category, humorous interpretation.

The two were among more than 2,300 students who competed in the week-long "Queen City Nationals" hosted by North Carolina's Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

In all, five Mercer speakers qualified for the national competition by placing at the Pittsburgh District Tournament held in mid-May.

Leah, Mercer's top-ranked speaker during the regular and post season, turned in one of the top overall performances by a Mercer speaker in 19 years of competition at nationals.

Competing with more than 200 initially, she advanced past the six preliminary rounds into the field of 60 for elimination rounds seven and eight. After receiving a second-, fourth- and fifth-place in round seven, she turned in her top performance of the tournament in round eight with two first-place rankings and a third to advance into the top 30 speakers. After receiving a third-, fourth- and fifth-place in round nine, she was given two third-places and a fourth in round 10. Leah missed advancing into the semifinal by 1 point. Overall, she placed 15th in the foreign extemporaneous competition, which is believed to be the second-highest placement ever by a Mercer extempore at nationals. She was awarded a Revere Bowl, which commemorated her top 30 placement in her qualifying event.

Once eliminated in the international extemp, Leah turned her attention to her consolation event, impromptu speaking, an event which attracted more than 300 speakers. There, she advanced through five rounds of competition. In preliminary rounds, she was given rankings of first and second, which placed her in the field of 16 for the semifinal round. In her semifinal round, all three judges gave her a third-place ranking, which placed her 12th overall. Leah received a Jefferson Cup for placing in the semifinal round of impromptu.

Woody was matched against 210 humorous interpers at the start of the competition on June 17. He broke into the top 60 for rounds seven and eight and was eliminated on June 19.

Three other Mercer speakers who qualified for national competition were eliminated in their qualifying categories after round six. However, they all competed in supplemental events where they advanced into elimination rounds.

The duo interpretation team of junior twins Jayson and Jonathan Portman competed in poetry and prose interpretation respectively. Jayson advanced into three elimination rounds in poetry, placing into the national quarterfinals. Jonathan was eliminated after the second break round in prose.

Recent Mercer High graduate Emily Boal entered the category of expository speaking after being eliminated in original oratory where she advanced to round five, the second break round in expository.

The Mercer speakers were accompanied by their coaches who worked with them all year, head coach Hugh Ringer, and assistant coaches Maryanne Stein, Sandra Ellenberger, Jill Ziccardi McCracken and Roberta Ringer.