A Panther Valley High School senior was named champion of the 1972 Carbon County Girls’ Oratorical Contest held last night in the Lehighton Area High School auditorium.

Miss Cynthia Whitehead, 17, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Whitehead, 159 E. Railroad St., Nesquehoning, chose the topic of “They Stood Alone” for her oration, finishing ahead of four other contestants.

They included Colleen Mann, Jim Thorpe, “Crime - Some Call It Dissent”; Wendy Bausman, Lehighton, “Happiness Is Freedom”; Charlotte Hines, Palmerton, “Death … Resurrection”; and Karen Jeppsen, Weatherly, “The Gift of Life.”