Speech Team Shines in Season Debut
After being unable to attend the Howells-Dodge meet as a result of snow, the EPS Speech team was finally able to compete on Friday.
The team traveled to Lindsay Holy Family and returned with a third place team finish behind Boone Central and Twin River. They also brought home a number of medals.
Top honors on the day went to the duet of Kenny Bush and Hunter Reestman, who were champions in the event and Lydia Behnk who brought home the championship medal in Entertainment Speaking.
The duet of Taya Voborny and Zoey Bergman earned the runner-up medal, and the OID of Bush, Reestman, Voborny, Bergman and Behnk also brought home the runner-up medal.
Jaime Hoefer returned with a sixth-place medal in Serious Prose, while Kira Widger placed eighth in Poetry.
Mateo Kirstine received and Excellent Rating in Extemporaneous Speaking, and Lexi Swanson earned an Excellent Rating in Poetry.
Coaches Stacy Shumake-Henn and Jessie Reestman were very pleased with their first outing.
“Considering the weather issues that have resulted in missed practices and even an earlier meet, we were thrilled with the results. The kids have been putting in as much time as they’ve been able to, but we have just needed a meet. To get six of the eight events we brought into finals was really fun for the kids. ”
According to the coaches, they have a good number of experienced members returning, but they have also been joined by some new talent.
“We graduated a great group of seniors last year, but our returning members have really stepped up as leaders. We also have some new members this year who have been fun to watch develop. As always, we are blessed with a great group of kids who are very talented and a lot of fun.”