Members of the Elgin Public Speech Team did not disappoint in their final performances of the season.
The squad returned from the State Speech Championships in Kearney with nine medals.
As a team, they placed fifth overall out of the 33 teams who competed in Class D2.
Four of the team’s eight state-qualifying events broke finals to earn medals.
Top honors on the day went to Kira Widger, who captured the third place medal in Serious Prose.
The Duet of Widger and Theanna Dunn earned fifth place medals.
Grace Rittscher placed fifth in Humorous Prose as well.
The OID of Widger, Rittscher, Dunn, Hunter Reestman and Adam Dreger placed sixth.
This year’s new rule allowing for speech team members to enter in three events at conference, districts and state allowed Widger to do something no EPS Speech Team member has ever been able to accomplish. She returned home with three state medals.
Jordan Lindgren received a Superior Rating in Informative Speaking. Rittscher and Reestman each earned a Superior Rating in Entertainment Speaking.
The Duet of Dreger and Cory Romej earned an Excellent Rating.
Co-coaches Jessie Reestman and Stacy Shumake-Henn were satisfied with the way the season concluded.
“Between the weather and illness, we’ve had a pretty chaotic season. There were times we weren’t sure we were going to be able to get where we wanted to. However, when we expressed that to the kids, they dug in and got the job done. We’re very proud of these kids and what they have accomplished,” they said.
The coaches had words of praise for Widger and her fellow seniors.
“So may state qualifiers return from the Kearney empty handed, and Kira returned with three medals. That’s pretty impressive. That really is a testament to the types of kids we have on this team. We’ll miss our seniors next year. Kira, Hunter, Grace, Brea (Carr), and Mateo (Kirstine) have had a huge impact on our program, and they’ve helped us create so many fond memories. We wish them luck and thank them for their efforts.”
