Wausa Speech team claims Conference and Wausa Invite titles

WAUSA — The Wausa Viking Speech Team won its third straight Lewis and Clark Conference speech title Wednesday, February 10 in Wynot. Viking performers amassed 210 team points, with all 18 entries earning honors. The team medaled 13 entries in the championship final to outlast runner-up Hartington-Newcastle.

“Everyone on the team did a great job—everyone really stepped up and performed well,” coach Samantha Stevens said. “It was really great to see each students’ hard work pay off.” The Vikings took home top honors in the championship flight in Entertainment, Extemporaneous, and Serious Prose. Championship flight medalists include the following entries:

Trey McQuay—1st Place; Entertainment, Joe Johnson—1st Place; Extemporaneous, Brooke Kumm—1st Place; Serious Prose, Cole Story and Tyler Baue—2nd Place; Duet, Abrielle Nelson, Leah Bloomquist, Tyler Baue, Cole Story, and Trey McQuay—2nd Place; OID, Emma Story—3rd Place; Poetry, Darla Nelson—3rd Place; Humorous Prose, Emily Woockman—3rd Place; Persuasive, Abrielle Nelson and Darla Nelson—4th Place; Duet, Brandon Kristensen—4th Place; Extemporaneous, Leah Bloomquist—4th Place; Informative, Brooke Kumm, Reghan Bloomquist, Kilee Thorell, and Holly Johnson—5th Place; OID, Tyler Baue—5th Place; Serious Prose.

The Vikings broke five entries into the next-in flight, including gold medals in persuasive and poetry:

Claire Kumm—1st Place, Persuasive, Kilee Thorell—1st Place, Poetry, Cory Schumacher—2nd Place, Humorous Prose, Ali Lundberg—3rd Place, Informative, Emily Kleinschmit—3rd Place, Entertainment.

“Overall, it was a great showing,” Stevens said. “Our team really competed hard today, and it was fantastic to see the kids rise to the occasion.”

The Vikings were back in action two days later—hosting 13 area teams at the 2021 Wausa Speech Invitational on Saturday. Wausa edged Crofton for the varsity team title and finished in third place in the junior varsity team rankings. Overall, the team tallied 20 medalists in both divisions:

Cade Wakeley and Kate Lundberg—1st Place; JV Duet, Sophia Wilken—1st Place; JV Serious Prose, Trey McQuay—1st Place; Varsity Entertainment, Abrielle Nelson, Leah Bloomquist, Tyler Baue, Cole Story, and Trey McQuay—1st Place; Varsity OID, Tyler Baue—1st Place; Varsity Serious Prose, Abrielle Nelson and Darla Nelson— 2nd Place; Varsity Duet, Joe Johnson—2nd Place; Varsity Extemporaneous, Alexa Cunningham and Christina Martinson— 3rd Place; JV Duet, Blair Wakeley—4th Place; JV Poetry, Tyler Baue and Cole Story—4th Place; Varsity Duet, Brooke Kumm—4th Place; Varsity Serious Prose, Leah Bloomquist— 4th Place; Varsity Informative, Hadley Vanness—5th Place; JV Informative, Taylor Alexander—5th Place; JV Serious Prose, Brandon Kristensen—5th Place; Varsity Extemporaneous, Emily Kleinschmit— 5th Place; Varsity Entertainment, Emily Woockman—5th Place; Varsity Persuasive, Sam Aitken— 6th Place; JV Extemporaneous, Claire Kumm—6th Place; Varsity Persuasive, Brooke Kumm, Reghan Bloomquist, Kilee Thorell, and Holly Johnson—6th Place; Varsity OID

“It was a busy week in terms of competition and to see the kids bounce back and win our meet was awesome,” Stevens said. “Mr. Stevens and I are so proud of this team and these students.”

The Vikings head to Crofton this Saturday before the varsity begins preparation for districts in Wausa on Monday, March 8.

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