Championship at Summerland
By Sidney Burkinshaw, Mary Belle Hamilton, and Abigail Thiele, speech team presidents
‘Twas the morning of Saturday, when all through the world, all was silent, the snow softly swirled. The bus warmed up while juice and muffins were consumed, and then they took off, away with a vroom! On January 20th, the West Holt Speech Team attended its first speech meet of the season at the Summerland Invite. Members prepped and practiced throughout the week to be able to perform to the best of their ability and it certainly paid off. West Holt swept the competition away, placing 1st in the team sweepstakes.
The following individuals placed in the novice portion. Peyton Olberding was champion in humorous prose. In poetry Alia Nowlin took runner-up and Claire Sholes received 4th. Cale Deseive placed 1st in persuasive. There were numerous novice informative speakers and the following places were awarded: 5th to Madisyn Hilkemeier, 4th to Jacob Panning, 3rd to Taytum Clouse, 2nd to Peyton Olberding, and 1st place was awarded to Emersyn Mlady. Elizabeth Olson was also the novice meet champion in both POI and extemporaneous speaking. In entertainment, Lane Cole was 5th, Chance Bardwell was 2nd, and Daleni Knust was 1st. Finally, the following places were awarded to the novice duets: 3rd to Chance Bardwell and Lane Cole, 2nd to Jacob Panning and Madisyn Hilkemeier, and 1st to Peyton Olberding and Emersyn Mlady.
In the varsity division in humorous prose, Teagn Butterfield was 6th, David Armstrong was 3rd, and Mary Belle Hamilton was 2nd. Madysen Kramer was runner-up in serious prose. In poetry, Morgan Mitchell placed 6th, Iris Sanchez placed 5th, and Abigail Thiele was 1st. Alyssa Dobias placed 4th in POI. In informative speaking Aubrei Clouse placed 5th and Madison Kratz placed 3rd. In extemporaneous speaking, Brooklyn Butterfield placed 4th, Sidney Burkinshaw placed 3rd, and Carter Gotschall placed 2nd. In entertainment, Nate Cambras was 5th, Drew Martin was 4th, and Hannah Olson was 1st. Last but not least, we have persuasive speaking. Lily Vogel placed 3rd, Ava Hoffman placed 2nd, and Monica Chavez was 1st.
Congratulations to all those who placed! Next week the team will travel to the Ord Invitational. Best of luck to all of the members who will be competing!