Going for gold

WAUSA — The Wausa Vikings speech team is looking forward to trying to talk its way to a state title.

Wausa is set to compete against other Class D1 schools in the Nebraska School Activities Association’s 2022 State Speech Championships on March 18 at Kearney High School in Kearney. 

The Vikings are marching back to the state competition in search of the team title that eluded them a year ago. 

Wausa finished in second place – four total points behind Humphrey – in Class D1 at the NSAA’s 2021 State Speech Championships.

Samantha Stevens works together with her husband, Kyle, as the Vikings’ high school speech coaches. 

“I wish I had a more exact science to tell you on how I keep the kids motivated and focused, but truly they do that themselves,” she said. “They want to do well and their drive to be successful is intrinsic, so hard work is non-negotiable.” 

Wausa has a mountain of momentum as it enters the state contest, as it has finished in first place in every one of the six meets it has competed in except one, where it ended up in second. 

In addition, the Vikings made school history on Feb. 28 by dominating the District D1-3 speech competition. 

They won every event at that meet and are sending their entire team to the state contest for the first time ever. 

“I don’t like to jinx anything or anyone, but we have won every meet this year besides one,” Wausa senior Tyler Baue said. “I have full confidence in my teammates and their talents to showcase the skill sets they have, and also show other teams at the state meet what Wausa is made of. 

“We may be a small school, but we can compete with the best,” he said. “The community also supports us so much, and their support really helps us at meets when we need a couple more laughs.” 

Junior Kilee Thorell noted that she is looking forward to going to Kearney with the whole Vikings team and experiencing the state speech competition for the first time. 

“We put in lots of hard work,” she said. “We stay after school and practice for an hour at minimum most times and we also stay and help prepare other speeches. 

“It is fully a team effort when it comes to practices because with two coaches it can be hard to practice with seven different people at once,” she said. 

Senior Cole Story agreed, saying, “We just practice a lot and work hard.”

Fellow senior Emily Woockman noted that she is also looking forward to the state speech contest.

“I feel that it is a really great way to end my speech career,” she said. “It shows how as a competitor I have improved from freshman year, being too scared to say my speech, to qualifying for the state meet again this year.”

Kyle Stevens noted that Wausa speech team members enjoy what they do. 

“The hard work they put in does not feel like hard work,” he said. “We enjoy the time we spend together working on this activity.” 

Samantha Stevens noted that she and her husband could not be prouder of a team than they are this year. 

“The kids have worked so hard, and they deserve this,” she said. “We cannot wait to see how they finish out the season.”

STATE SPEECH COMPETITION:

Wausa Public Schools will not have classes on March 18 so district patrons and students have the opportunity to attend the Nebraska School Activities Association’s 2022 State Speech Championships and cheer on the Vikings speech team in Kearney.

For more information on the state speech competition, visit nsaahome.org/speech/.