The EPS Speech Team did not return from Kearney empty handed.
Two of the three qualifying events broke finals and earned state medals.
Lydia Behnk captured the third place medal in Entertainment Speaking. Winning the competition was Margaret Safarik of Hyannis.
The OID of Behnk, Ashton Evans, Kira Widger, Hunter Reestman and Adam Dreger earned fourth place medals. Earning the top spot in OID was the team from Bruning-Davenport. Members of the team were Isaac Baysinger, TaraLee Hudson, Glenn Meyer, Jacob Schoenholz and Preston J. Sybrant.
Shelby Dohmen narrowly missed finals with her Superior Rating in Humorous Prose.
The team placed 9th overall out of the 41 teams representing at the D1 level.
Coaches’ Stacy Shumake-Henn and Jessie Reestman had words of praise for the speech team.
“We are thrilled with the accomplishments of these kids this season. They worked hard and surpassed our expectations once again. Not only have they honed a skill that will come in handy in all facets of their lives, but they have also had a great time doing it.”
The team will lose four seniors to graduation: Behnk, Evans, Dohmen, and Caleb Miller.
“We’re really proud of all that these kids have accomplished during their speech careers. They have been tremendous leaders for our younger members, and they will be missed.”
