By Patrick Prifogle

On April 13, sophomore Liam Resener participated in the Classical Singer High School Competition hosted by Depauw University. Not only did he qualify for the quarterfinals, but he finished first place in his age division. A feat he can hardly believe.

“I did not feel like I performed my absolute best,” said Resener. “They announced third place and I thought, oh man this is making me nervous, then they announced second and I thought, oh well more competitions will come along, then they announced first and I was kind of in shock.”

He will now travel to Boston, in May, to try to advance to the semifinals, and possibly even the finals.

“I still can’t believe it, although today we started to make travel arrangements for Boston. I’m super excited for it.”

Choir director Angela Hampton knows what it takes to become an outstanding vocalist. “He worked really really hard,” said Hampton. “He advanced his skill at a very fast rate, that’s pretty remarkable.”

In order to make it the finals, he will have to go through some stiff competition.

“There are about 175 high schoolers from across the nation participating in the second round and only 30 or 40 get semifinal spots.”

“I’m looking forward to next round. I certainly don’t expect to make it to the semifinals, but I would love to.”