Wausa students have a busy weekend in Kearney

Mark Mahoney 

Wausa Gazette 

KEARNEY – Two students from Wausa Public Schools had an especially busy weekend recently in south-central Nebraska. 

Senior Tyler Baue and junior Kilee Thorell participated in two exciting state events while they were in Kearney Thursday-Saturday, March 17-19. 

First, Baue and Thorell were part of the Wausa Vikings speech team that won the Nebraska School Activities Association’s 2022 State Speech Championships in Class D1 on Friday at Kearney High School in Kearney. 

Then they – along with senior Jarrett Andersen and freshman Jessica Andersen – represented their school on Saturday at the University of Nebraska at Kearney as part of this year’s Class D All-State Band. 

“As for my experiences this weekend, it was so much fun,” Baue said. 

He saw great success during the state speech competition, finishing in first place in Serious Prose by himself, in Duet Acting with senior Cole Story and in Oral Interpretation of Drama with Story and seniors Leah Bloomquist, Trey McQuay and Abrielle Nelson. 

In addition, Baue was supposed to play with the Class D All-State Band – a regular concert ensemble – on the baritone saxophone with the three other Wausa students who had been selected. 

However, he also had been chosen to perform with the Class D All-State Jazz Band on the trombone, so he had to decide which ensemble to play with at UNK. 

“I did get to perform in the jazz band, and it was so exciting,” Baue said. “I was very nervous at first because I’ve never had practice in jazz music, but I’m so glad I did it.” 

He started playing the trombone at the start of the 2021-22 school year with the help of Wausa music director Patricia Sedivy. 

“I picked it up at the beginning of this year thinking that it would help me better read bass clef, and sure enough, I’m now able to play pretty fluently and have the opportunity to play it at all-state,” Baue said. “Mrs. Sedivy taught me the basics and then I learned some on my own.” 

He received the chance to play four songs on the trombone as a part of the all-state jazz band and got to meet some new people and see familiar faces. 

All-state band and jazz band members rehearsed on Saturday with guest conductors and then performed an evening concert for the public. 

“Something that I thought was really cool at all-state band was when one of the people who was putting on the concert said that even though we had been at state speech the day before, competing against one another, we could all come together the next day and create some amazing music,” Baue said.

“I was able to medal (first chair) in the jazz band on the fourth trombone, which was also really exciting,” he said. “I highly encourage the community to come to these concerts if Wausa students, or anyone they know of, makes it.” 

Thorell recalled her long weekend beginning on Thursday, when Wausa Public Schools held a morning pep rally celebrating recent student successes, including the speech team. 

Then speech team members traveled with their coaches, Kyle and Samantha Stevens, to Kearney, which is nearly 190 miles southwest of Wausa. 

“This weekend started off on Thursday night in Mr. and Mrs. Stevens’ hotel room, where we had the whole team and each person took their turn performing their speech,” Thorell said. 

“By the end of all the speeches, everyone was ready to go swimming,” she said. “We all were in bed around 10 o’clock, getting ready for our early morning.” 

She noted that Kearney High School was huge compared to Wausa’s. 

“The adrenaline of trying to find your room where you were supposed to perform was something I wasn’t prepared for,” Thorell said. “It was a long day, but it was very worth it. 

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