The books are being put away, blazers hung up in the closet for now, and voices are resting after the speech team’s final rounds of the season at the state tournament. The competition was held at Lakeville North High School on Friday, and Cannon Falls students went up against the best single A speakers from around the state. It was a long, loud day filled with high stakes and even higher tension, but at the end of the day the team was teeming with success.                                                                                       Ashley Howden

This season the speech team had the second largest number of state qualifiers at 16 in team history, including all seven seniors on the team, five juniors, three sophomores, and one freshman. After three rounds of preliminary competition, the finals qualifiers were announced, and seven individuals discussed, dramatized, and persuaded their way in, all receiving medals for the hard work they put into their season. The team tied with Mounds Park Academy for the most people receiving medals, and had two people, seniors Sydney Erhardt and Matthew Lockett, joined the ranks of those who have earned four state medals. Sydney also became the fourth person ever in all of Minnesota to have been awarded state champion three times. In the end Cannon Falls left with one state champion (Sydney Erhardt), two third place (senior Matthew Lockett and junior Matthew Breuer), one fourth place (junior Bjorn Pearson), two fifth place (senior Cassidy Parrott and sophomore Miranda Felton), and one eighth place (freshman Grant Schlichting) award winners.

All in all, this season has been one of the most successful in team history. Not only was the team able to send 49 members to subsections, 41 to sections and 16 to state, but many members were able to reach new heights. Personal goals were reached throughout the season, and champions were found in everyone on the team. It’s been a long few months for the speech team, and they have earned a reprieve until the season starts again in December. For the seven seniors who are graduating, they each had a long, successful career in their own rights. The team has one last get-together at their annual “cupcake gathering” where they’ll hand out their awards and celebrate their season together. It’s all winding down, and the Cannon Falls speech team should be proud of their numerous achievements and look forward to the future.

                                                                                                                                                                                               Ashley Howden