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Recognizing Academic Achievements at Our Third Quarter Assembly

3/19/2026

Lisa Kaminski

On March 19, Dashers gathered to recognize their classmates' accomplishments in academics, athletics, and the fine arts. Here's to the Dashers who excelled in physics, Latin, forensics, and more!

Valedictorian and Salutatorians

The title of valedictorian is awarded to the student with the highest unweighted grade point average after seven semesters. The salutatorian is awarded to the person with the second-highest GPA.

Congratulations to the 2026 valedictorian, Taryn Doyle, DSHA ’26, and salutatorians, Sophia Collins, DSHA ’26, and Elizabeth Regan, DSHA ’26.

Senate Scholar

Congratulations to Yesenia Bustos, DSHA ’27, for being selected as a Senate Scholar. This highly competitive program invites just 33 students from Wisconsin to get a close-up look at the state legislature. Senate Scholars gain experience from senators, legislative staff, and University of Wisconsin faculty in policy development, constituent relations, and processing legislation.

Forensics

This season, DSHA has placed second at three tournaments and first at the Greater Metro Conference tournament.

At the Port Washington Invitational, pictured above, multiple Dashers broke into the final round, including:

Carolina Casper, DSHA ’28, first place in oratorical declamation
Maggie Killoran, DSHA ’26, first place in extemporaneous reading
Madison Cotton, DSHA ’27, second place in poetry
Joselyn Garcia-Molohua, DSHA ’27, second place in expository speaking
Emily Tamas, DSHA ’29, second place in special occasion speaking
Naema Deacon, DSHA ’29; Madison Cotton, DSHA ’27; and Emily Tamas, DSHA ’29, finalists in extemporaneous reading
Cecelia Mangan, DSHA ’29, and Naema Deacon, DSHA ’29, finalists in prose
Margaret Peek, DSHA ’29; Emma Esser, DSHA ’28; and Maggie Killoran, DSHA ’26, finalists in impromptu

Additional congratulations to the team’s tournament champions:

Nora McCullough, DSHA ’28, in special occasion speaking
Eleanor Hegerty, DSHA ’29, in prose
Carolina Casper, DSHA ’28, in oratorical declamation
Joselyn Garcia-Molohua, DSHA ’27, in expository
Rachel Memory, DSHA ’26, in mock congress
Maggie Killoran, DSHA ’26, in informative speaking

Dashers also qualified for the National Speech & Debate Tournament. These three students will represent DSHA at the national competition in Virginia this June:

Holly Kubert Marshall, DSHA ’28, for extemporaneous speaking
Stormy Walker, DSHA ’27, for informative speaking
Team captain Rachel Memory, DSHA ’26, for congressional debate

Science Olympiad

This January, DSHA’s Science Olympiad competed in the Wisconsin Regional Tournament at UWM. DSHA placed fourth out of 26 teams. Kenny Agbeluyi, DSHA ’27, and Taiwo Agbeluyi, DSHA ’27, earned a medal for the horticulture event.

Physics Awards

Thirty-two lab groups competed in a fettuccine bridge-building competition. The goal was to design and construct a strong bridge with just pasta and glue. Clare Anderson, DSHA ‘2; Avery Fischer, DSHA ‘26; Anna Miller, DSHA ‘26; Rachel Monday, DSHA ‘26; and Amelia Motl, DSHA ‘26, built this year’s winning bridge; it held over 64 times its own weight.

Additionally, Dashers earned the Physics Book Award. This recognizes outstanding achievement in DSHA physics classes. A student from each class who achieves the highest percentage score receives this award and a book that explores topics in physics. Congratulations to Megan Rentmeester, DSHA ’27; Aubrey Jones, DSHA ’26; Molly McGown, DSHA ’26; Lizzie Stuckslager, DSHA ’26; Addison Toth, DSHA ’26; Anna Miller, DSHA ’26; and Erin Gonzales, DSHA ’26.

Latin Convention

DSHA sent 48 delegates to Latin Convention in Madison this January. Students competed in service, spirit, testing, art, and other classic-related activities.

Dashers took home the following awards:

First place in service, with 600 service hours
Second place for overall spirit
Rose Fleisch, DSHA ’26, placed first in the impromptu oratory competition
Erin Gonzales, DSHA ’26; Sophia Collins, DSHA ’26; Maggie Brzezinski, DSHA ’26; and Rose Fleisch, DSHA ’26, swept the top four spots in the essay competition
Madison Cotton, DSHA ’27, placed second in the memorized oratory competition
Tessa Tollefson, DSHA ’28, earned second place for her DSHA Latin scrapbook
Freshman Certamen team Molly Foy, DSHA ‘29; Vivienne DeLonge, DSHA ’29; Josie Jonas, DSHA ’29; and Addison Maloney, DSHA ’29, earned second place

Thank you to Rose Fleisch, DSHA ’26, for serving her term on the Wisconsin Junior Classical League’s executive board. She helped to organize the convention with her fellow board members.

Rory Correa, DSHA ’28, was elected first vice president of the Wisconsin Junior Classical League and will serve until Latin Convention 2027.

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- Congratulations to valedictorian Taryn Doyle, DSHA ’26, (pictured top right) and salutatorians, Sophia Collins, DSHA ’26, (pictured bottom right) and Elizabeth Regan, DSHA ’26 (pictured middle left).