A dramatic hush falls over the audience. Wandering eyes fall on the speaker as she prepares herself. Given a nod from the judge, she takes one deep breath and begins.
Last year, the Cannon Falls speech team conquered the competition. In total, 17 speakers qualified for state. Of those returning to speech this year, nine are state qualifiers, and four placed in the final rounds. Spread out among various categories such as Extemporaneous Speaking, Prose, Storytelling, Drama, Informative, and Great Speeches, each student excelled individually. The qualifiers were Bjorn Pearson, Matthew Moskal, Matthew Breuer, Mary Franz and Megan Bauer. The medalists were Sydney Erhardt (1^st place), Hannah Brummund (6^th place), Josh Siebenaler (7^th place), and Matt Lockett (8^th place). Erhardt is the team’s first returning state champion. Although we have had eight other state champions in the past, they all were seniors and have graduated since.

Erhardt’s advice to a new “speechie” is to

Winget is confident the team’s success will remain in the upcoming year. Predicting the number of state qualifiers will stay the same or increase, she claims that multiple returning veterans were “just on the bubble of making it” last year. Three dozen veterans are returning. The team is led by seven dedicated captains and three knowledgeable coaches.

A dramatic pose defines the speaker’s closure. She grins, knowing she killed it. Given a nod from the judge, the dazzled audience claps. After giving it her all, she can only hope that a state qualification award bearing her name awaits.