After an extremely successful season, including eight first-place wins, the Cannon Falls Speech team moved into their post-season: Subsections, Sections, and State. The preseason occurred from late January through late March and consisted of invitational tournaments. Invitationals are composed of a myriad of invited teams, so the speakers saw a new batch of competitors each week. However, the post-season is divided up, with the top six competitors from each Subsection moving on to Sections, and the top three competitors from Sections moving on to State. 

In preparation for the post season to begin, the team hosted Community Night on March 31, which gave parents, friends, and other supporters of the team a perfect opportunity to see what the speakers have been performing and perfecting since December. A few days later, the team reconvened at the high school for the Subsection tournament. 

The Cannon Falls team earned first place at Subsections, hosted on their home turf in Cannon Falls. Champions of their categories at subsections included Fletcher Churchill in Creative Expression, Grace Miller in Extemporaneous Reading, Lydia Pedersen in Extemporaneous Speaking, Cannon Quade in Humorous, Grace Parks in Informative, and Tristin Qualey in Poetry. Second place earners were Kendall Lawless in Drama, Connor Loeschke in Great Speeches, Sophia Hanson in Poetry, and Jessica Baszuro in Prose. Third place earners were Ashton Beyer in Discussion, Bowen Maki & Kendahl Zimmerman in Duo, Ava Brokate in Extemporaneous Reading, Angel Zheng in Great Speeches, Bianca Caputo in Informative, and Grace Churchill in Poetry. Fourth place awards went to Meagan Pedersen in Creative Expression, Kayley Frenette in Discussion, Wil Brokate in Humorous, Emily Barrett in Original Oratory, and Lauren Ritz in Storytelling. Fifth place was earned by William Zheng in Informative and Sara Auger in Storytelling. In sixth place came Thomas Coyle in Great Speeches, Sonya Milkova in Prose, and Samuel Coyle in Storytelling. All of these award winners moved onto the Sections tournament in Byron on April 9.

At the sections tournament, the top three placers in each category moved onto State, which occured on April 23 at Eastview High School. Champions of their categories included Angel Zheng in Great Speeches, Bianca Caputo in Informative, and Tristin Qualey in Poetry. Earning second place were Kendall Lawless in Drama, Grace Miller in Extemporaneous Reading, Connor Loeschke in Great Speeches, Grace Parks in Informative, and Sophia Hanson in Poetry. Ava Brokate in Extemporaneous Reading, Lydia Pedersen in Extemporaneous Speaking, Cannon Quade in Humorous, Jessica Baszuro in Prose, and Lauren Ritz in Storytelling earned third place. Medalling, but not moving on to State, were those in fourth, fifth, and sixth place. Earning fourth place were Fletcher Churchill in Creative Expression, Kayley Frenette in Discussion, Bowen Maki & Kendahl Zimmerman in Duo, and Thomas Coyle in Great Speeches. Ashton Beyer in Discussion, Emily Barrett in Original Oratory, and Sara Auger in Storytelling earned fifth place. Grace Churchill in Poetry and Samuel Coyle in Storytelling earned sixth place. 

As the thirteen State competitors finished up their last week of the season – their last chance to practice and improve their speeches – they braced for the tough competition at State. At the State tournament, there were 24 competitors in each category; the top placers of which went on to the championship final round. 

The Cannon Falls Speech Team earned fifth place at the State tournament, with five individuals earning a spot in the championship round. Tristin Qualey in Poetry and Lauren Ritz in Storytelling earned third place in their respective categories. Sophia Hanson in Poetry earned fourth place. Kendall Lawless in Drama earned fifth place. Grace Miller in Extemporaneous Reading earned ninth place.

Now that the speech season has reached its conclusion, the team has one thing left: the Cupcake Extravaganza. At the extravaganza, the speakers will enjoy delectable cupcakes, captivating company, and a final celebration of season-long success.