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   On the last day in March, the WHA Speech Team brought 17 speakers to the Subsection 29A speech tournament in Cass Lake. The competition, hosted by the Cass Lake-Bena speech team, brought together six teams to determine which speakers will advance to the Section 8A tournament. Of the 17 speakers Walker brought to the tournament, 15 earned medals, and 14 will advance to the section tournament. 

   Angelique White advanced to the final round of discussion, and placed 6th overall, just shy of advancing to sections. The following speakers will advance to the section tournament: Anna Tinker placed 5th in Poetry, Ava Diekmann placed 4th in Prose, Layla Krueckeberg placed 4th in Poetry, Matthew Koch placed 4th in Oratory, Alexandra Cain placed 4th in Extemp. Reading, Lola Krueckeberg placed 4th in Informative, Sophia Undem placed 3rd in Poetry, Trevor Kuechle placed 3rd in Great Speeches, Jace Ungerecht placed 3rd in Humor, Isaias Jimenez McMurrin placed 2nd in Oratory, Zoe Cox placed 2nd in Drama, and Elaina Dascalos placed 2nd in Prose. Finally, there were two category champions: Brooklyn Hanson placed 1st in Informative, and Elijah Cox placed 1st in Prose. 

   In the team sweepstakes, Fosston/Bagley placed first overall. Walker placed second, followed by Park Rapids, Laporte, Blackduck, and Cass Lake-Bena. 

   The subsection tournament is the first elimination tournament on the road to state. On Tuesday, April 14th, the 14 advancing speakers will compete at the section tournament at Fosston high school. In order to advance from sections to the state tournament, speakers will need to place in the top 3 of their category. Speakers and coaches alike will be hard at work this week preparing for a hopeful state appearance. 

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