The endless Saturday mornings of waking up at the crack of dawn, arriving at the school in the most classy attire, and dedicating the day to talking to judges (and walls) surely paid off for the Cannon Falls Speech team this weekend as they ventured to Apple Valley to compete in the Class A state tournament.

Rolling into post-season, the team got first and 41 competitors at the sub-section tournament in Cannon Falls qualified for sections. Seventeen speechies advanced from the section tournament, where the team won first yet again, and went to battle it out at state on Saturday, April 22nd.

The team finished with 6 finalists who placed in the top 8 in their category, including Grant Schlichting (second), Ryan Schlichting (third), Miranda Felton (second), Rachel Hartman (second), Jordynn Zier (third), and Sam Hamann (eighth). To put the cherry on top of the already highly successful day, for the second consecutive year, Cannon Falls snatched the Class A state team championship.

Senior captain Amanda Wulf commented on how she felt after participating at state by saying, “Competing at the state speech tournament and winning our second consecutive team championship was a surreal feeling. It was an irreplaceable experience and I loved seeing everyone speak the best that they could one last time.” Wulf, who joined speech as a sophomore and competed for 3 years, also added that the team’s continuous achievements are solely credited to the coaches, who dedicate loads of time and commitment to the program.

The Cannon Falls Speech team has always been admirable, and this year was certainly no exception. Although the team is losing a handful of talented seniors, next season is destined to reel in medals upon medals, and hopefully, another state championship team title.