Statebound
The CFHS speech team is sending 15 of its speakers to the state tournament on April 29.
All speakers from the Cannon Falls Speech Team that competed at sections posed along with coaches Holly Winget, Cal Vande Hoef, and John Fogarty.
The week of the Section 1A tournament was stressful for the Cannon Falls Speech team. In addition to the normal nerves felt at this point in the postseason as they prepare their speeches for Sections, the tournament itself was moved from Rochester Century High School to Wabasha-Kellogg High School due to a school network cyber attack. Nevertheless, the Cannon Falls speech team persisted through their challenges and came out victorious, defeating second-place Cotter Schools by a wide margin, 91 points to 68 points.
This year’s Sections championship was historic for the Cannon Falls team. Of 32 competing members at sections, 23 finaled, and 15 speakers qualified for the State tournament on April 29. In order to advance on to speak at the State tournament, a speaker has to earn first, second, or third place. These numbers include the most State qualifiers since before the pandemic for the team.
Sections champions of their categories included Fletcher Churchill in Creative Expression, Teagan Strecker in Discussion, Grace Miller in Extemporaneous Reading, Lydia Pedersen in Extemporaneous Speaking, Angel Zheng in Great Speeches, and Tristin Qualey in Poetry.
Earning second place were Ava Brokate in Extemporaneous Reading, Cannon Quade in Humorous, Grace Parks in Informative Speaking, and Lauren Ritz in Storytelling.
Micah Katterjohn in Drama, Bowen Maki & Kendahl Zimmerman in Duo, Lauren Capelle in Extemporaneous Reading, and Sara Auger in Storytelling all earned third place.
Earning fourth place were Meagan Pedersen in Creative Expression, Charles Fick in Extemporaneous Speaking, Joanna Wu in Original Oratory, and Grace Churchill in Poetry.
Fifth place earners included Piper O’Gorman in Informative Speaking, Adelaide Anderson in Poetry, and Aubry Conway in Storytelling.
Lilian Wagenknecht earned sixth place.
In honor of their Sections success, the speech team would also like to invite all community members, friends, and family to join them for their annual Community Night, in which all Sections finalists and select speakers will perform the pieces they have been polishing throughout the season. Community Night will be held at Cannon Falls High School in the IMC at 7:00 p.m. The subjects of the speakers’ pieces range from comedy to public speaking to serious to acting, so there is sure to be something for everyone to enjoy.
Salutations! I am Grace Miller, the editor-in-chief for the Lantern. I am heavily involved in FFA, speech, and my job as a barista, but my true calling...