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   The Walker Talkers attended the MSHSL State Speech Tournament on April 29th with eight of their speakers that qualified for the competition: Katelyn DeLost in Creative, Ada Muller in Discussion, Julia Schock and Madison Kendrick in Drama, Abagayle Audette in Extemp Reading, Natalie Resch-Seely in Extemp Speaking, Reagan Tabaka in Informative, and Elijah Cox in Prose. Each student spoke among the top speakers in the state throughout three preliminary rounds. Among the eight speakers, both Julia and Elijah qualified for the final round in their categories and took home state medals. This was Julia’s second consecutive trip to the state tournament earning an eighth place medal last season. She proudly earned her fourth place medal performing a ten minute piece from the play “Girl.” by Megan Mostyn-Brown. In addition, Elijah spent his first state appearance performing from Val Killmer’s memoir “I Am Your Huckleberry’’. He walked away with a second place medal in the category of prose. Our team of speakers and coaches walked away proud to be Walker Talkers. 

   Seeing that their season has now come to an end, the reality slowly set in as they realized eight senior speakers had spoken for the last time: Katelyn DeLost, Ada Muller, Julia Schock, Leo Burns, Natalie Resch-Seely, Sophia Landreville, Tristan Damar, and Reagan Tabaka. Most of these speakers have been a part of the team since their seventh grade year. Their commitment and enthusiasm stood out above most groups from the moment they first spoke. Their legacy lives on with the team and will continue to encourage future generations to speak their hearts out. 

   Lastly, the team would like to thank the many supporters and sponsors of our season. Each person or business gave generously to the team’s ability to host three home tournaments this season: Deb Farrell, Mike Worcester, The Offerman Family, Samantha Hyduke Beard, The Pine Cone Press-Citizen, Jeff Haugen, Patty Knight, Megan Yeats, The Beckman Family, Kristin “Arends” Holly, Kari Norby, Tia and Molly Massar, The Jorland Family, Crystal Holmberg, Jill Kerrigan, Stephanie Stein, Kim Schoeck, Jim and Linda Kolar, South Shore Guide Service, Jackie Bruns, Whispering Pines, The Bilben Family, Ann Noland, and Samantha Oliver. The team would also like to thank Green Scene for generously donating the meals for the judges at the Fifty First Annual Chuck Beckman Memorial Tournament. 

   The team would like to finally thank their new coach, Levi Capesius, for his unwavering leadership and support for the team. He was hired earlier this school year bringing his own experience from his participation on a speech team in Iowa. He continues to recruit and encourage young performers to join the team while supporting existing speakers throughout the season. When current coaches Ben Offerman and Katelin DeLorenzo gave birth to their first child back in February, Levi rose to the challenge of taking all competitors to speech meets and continuing their practice schedules in their absence. He is sure to continue his career as a coach on the team and will continue to uphold the Walker Talker legacy with enthusiasm and excitement. They are lucky to have him as an advocate for the arts and we look forward to what he has in store for our team!

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