In Kearney on March 5th, seven students represented Schuyler at State Speech. Elizabeth Harding (12), Piper Lefdal (12), Collin Gibbons (12), Michael Arriaza (12), Joel Medina (11), Gina Alba (11), and Alexander Aldana (10) qualified for State. Chase King, the Head Coach for the Speech team, explained that, “Seeing them perform at the end of the year is the culmination of their hard work.” The Schuyler State individual results are: Elizabeth Harding was Extemp Champ and placed 4th in Persuasive, Piper Lefdal was the Serious Prose Runner Up, Collin Gibbons was the Runner Up for poerty and placed 3rd in POI, Michael Arriaza received 4th in Humorous Prose. Joel Medina and Alexander Aldana received 5th in Duet Acting, Gina Alba, Alex Aldana, and Michael Arriaza received 6th in OID. The team placed 4th overall. “I am just lucky enough to have landed here to work with them for two years,” Mr. King commented.

“I love how we did at State having a State Champ and two runners-up is amazing,” Mr. King explained. The meaning of being a State qualifier for Mr. King is that it shows all their hard work and the dedication they have shown during the season. “When I received my fourth place for humorous, I was kind of upset, but overall I’m happy, because I double medaled at State,” explained Michael. The team has improved in many ways. At the end of the year, the Speech team has made progress compared to their first meet. Mr. King has enjoyed having the seniors who were State qualifiers in Speech and is excited to see what the future holds for them and their talents. “I was actually gonna quit Speech at first when I wasn’t doing as good as I did last year, but here I am with two State medals,” explained Micheal. To anyone who is thinking of joining the Speech Team next year, Micheal advises to “Take it seriously! And it takes time to get good!”