State is the next step for WHA Speech

   Within the last two weeks the WHA Speech Team took part in the Subsection 29A and Section 8A meets. The 29A Subsection tournament took place at WHA on Tuesday, April 5th. Walker Talkers who advanced from subsections then went on to compete at Fosston High School in the Section 8A meet on Tuesday, April 12th.   These speakers had to place in the top three of their category at the section tournament to advance to state. Out of eleven of the speakers that attended the section meet, all eleven went home with awards and five will be competing at state.

   At the subsection tournament, one out of the thirteen WHA competitors did not advance to the section meet. Tristan Damar was just one place short of advancing to the section meet; he placed 5th in the category of Poetry. 

   At the Section 8A meet, six Walker speakers earned awards but did not advance to state. Sophia Landerville placed 7th in Poetry, Sora Bauerly placed 5th in Oratory, Elijah Cox placed 5th in Prose, Natalie Resch-Seely placed 4th in Extemp. Speaking, Leo Burns placed 4th in Humor, and Ada Muller placed 4th in Discussion.

   Five Walker Talkers are now focused on what the state tournament holds for them after placing in the top three of their categories at the section tournament. Both Reagan Tabaka in Inform and Katelyn DeLost in Creative placed 3rd. Lily Pederson placed 2nd in the category of Humor. Taking 1st place in Drama was Julia Schock and in Humor was Lily Burns.

   The competition on Saturday April 23rd is the next step for the advancing competitors from the 8A meet. The Class A State tournament will be taking place at East View High School in Apple Valley. The WHA Speech Team will leave Thursday, April 21st to observe the Class AA tournament on Friday. As WHA competitors observe, coaches Stewart Wilson and Katelin DeLorenzo will be judging. Coach Ben Offerman says, “It is important for our team to observe the Class AA meet to see all sorts of talent coming from other school districts. It gives the students a chance to see performances of new speeches and competitors. Viewing these talented speakers is a great learning opportunity, and it’s great to offer support for the activity.”

   The final award announcement at the end of the Section 8A tournament was for section coach of the year. Our very own Stewart Wilson was voted Section 8A coach of the year by his fellow coaches in the section. Wilson has not only been a coach in the section, but also a competitor. In 1978 Wilson started his speech career for the Walker team. Since then, he has coached at Laporte and returned to Walker in 1995. Since the year 2000, he has been an integral part of managing the subsection and section. This award is a well-deserved representation of the work he has put in to keep the speech activity alive at Walker as well as the surrounding area. Congratulations Stewart! 

   This coming Saturday the five advancing speakers will be competing at the MSHSL State Speech Tournament at Eastview High School in Applevalley. This week, before the tournament, the community has an opportunity to watch everyone on the team perform their pieces. This Wednesday, April 20th, the Walker team will be putting on a showcase in the WHA Auditorium at 7 p.m. Come out to support the team and see some amazing speeches!