COOS BAY - There's a good chance Justin Rodriguez' heart was beating a little faster than normal as he took the Marshfield High School auditorium stage.

He thanked everyone for coming Thursday, grinned bashfully, bowed his head and did something amazing. He made practically the entire high school student body hang on his every word.

It was easy to see why a panel of judges awarded Rodriguez first prize in the state speech competition for dramatic interpretation last weekend.

It had been at least 10 years since Marshfield High School took home a state championship in speech. And coach Deb Larsen can't remember ever having a winner come out of an individual speaking event.

That changed Saturday when Rodriguez, a junior, brought his audience to tears in the dramatic interpretation competition final.

"He has learned what it takes to really stir that emotion in the listener," Larsen said.

Rodriguez won by reciting his 10-minute monologue "Daddy's Little Girl," about a father coming to grips that his daughter has terminal leukemia.

Despite the dark subject, the piece incorporates humor, such as when the father recalls shopping for a training bra with his daughter. It was Rodriguez' smooth transition from humor to heartbreak that Larsen thinks convinced the judges he was No. 1.

"When he is that man talking about his daughter and he really gets it. ... That is the performance that makes the grade," she said.

Rodriguez transformed from awkward high school student to polished speaker Thursday. He literally apologized to his classmates for having to attend his speech. His words of introduction were broken up by ums, stops and starts. But once he began, his words were infused with confidence. There wasn't a single unneeded utterance.

He drew the audience into the story, first speaking as the father, then adopting the gestures and presentation of the daughter. When the father realizes his 15-year-old girl has fallen into a coma, Rodriguez paused, and the auditorium was silent.

"At the end of the piece it gets intense," he said. "I know it's good when I see tears in peoples' eyes."

That happened Saturday. Some judges appeared to be sniffling.

"Right then, I thought I might have a chance," he said.

Taking home a state championship is a big deal, said Larsen. Unlike the six-classification sports system, the speech tournament has students from the smallest and largest schools in the state competing against each other.

"These are the cream of the crop from all the state of Oregon," said Larsen.

Rodriguez also went up against several talented speakers from Bandon, who had an impressive tournament showing of their own.

But it was the Marshfield Pirate that took the title for dramatic interpretation, despite his penchant for getting overwrought before his performances.

Larsen said it isn't unusual for Rodriguez to misplace his keys, phone or notes before a tournament.

"He's usually not that spacey, he's just so focused on his presentation," she said. "He goes by himself and practices. He really gets in tune with the process."

Although Larsen is very excited about having a state champion in an individual speaking event, Rodriguez remains modest in talking about the experience.

"It's a great feeling," he said. "I guess it is kind of a big deal."

State Speech Video