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Student Orator Achieves Rare Back-to-Back OSDA State Championship
Geauga County's 1st-Ever OSDA State Champion Charlotte Jons Strikes Again!
March 4, 2024 (CHARDON, OH) — Chardon State Championship history has been achieved once again by Chardon High School student Charlotte Jons — this time on March 2 after she clinched her second consecutive State Championship in Program Oral Interpretation after seven rounds over the course of two days of competition at the Ohio Speech and Debate Association State Tournament. The contest was held at Wooster High School in Wooster, OH.
For the 2023-24 season, Charlotte curated a POI piece on the purpose and complexities of womanhood.
Over 1,000 students from more than 100 Ohio high schools competed at the state level on Saturday, with Charlotte, a senior, among 66 vying for the top seat in POI.
Charlotte is a four-time OSDA state qualifier and the first in Chardon to ever qualify in speech and debate at the state level, earning her first state championship in 2023. She is also a National Speech and Debate Association national tournament qualifier set to compete in Iowa June 16-21, representing the second consecutive year Charlotte will take the national stage.
CHS OSDA Coach Amy Roediger stated, "To be the OSDA state champion once is a huge accomplishment. To repeat that feat is a very rare occurrence."
Charlotte Jons and Coach Roediger on March 2 at OSDA State Championship
Roediger explained that over the last two decades, fewer than 20 students have won back-to-back OSDA state championships in an event and that Charlotte is not only Geauga County's first-ever OSDA State Champ to date but now the only Geauga student to have accomplished consecutive championships.
What Charlotte demonstrated through POI prowess this past weekend was equally matched by character.
Roediger stated, "All weekend long, other coaches told me that Charlotte is so encouraging to others and the pinnacle of good sportsmanship."
CHS interim principal Ms. Mary Pat Pavicic said she is so proud of Charlotte and what she has accomplished.
Ms. Pavicic elaborated, "The skill, diligence, and endurance required to participate in such an event, let alone to finish as the champion for the second consecutive year, is quite the achievement. To know that she made the extra effort to be supportive and kind to her competitors through the event sets such a great example for all to follow, and makes her accomplishment that much more outstanding."
The Chardon Board of Education has invited Charlotte, Coach Roediger and family to the March 18 regular Board meeting where Board president Karen Blankenship will present a Resolution in honor of Charlotte's exceptional OSDA state championship achievements and NSDA national championship qualifications.
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