A freshman placed third at the district speech contest, qualifying her to compete at state.

Freshman Caitlin Easter placed third in dramatic interpretation with the performance of “From The Flow by Janet O’Neill.” The contest was held at State Fair Community College on April 24-25. She will compete at state contest in Springfield on April 24 and 25.

Other speech team members competed as well.  Junior  Matthew Stebbins did original oratory and international extemporaneous speaking, senior Zach Long did prose reading, junior Stephanie Fisher did humorous interpretation, and senior Tristen Weiser did storytelling and radio speaking. Easter also performed poetry reading.

Caitlin Easter, Rusty Johnson and Cash Miller, and juniors Matthew Stebbins, Stephanie Fisher and  Madison Lane presented a Reader’s Theater entitled “10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse.”

Easter had to memorize her piece and be as close to 10 minutes as she could get. She said that she practicing it for at least two weeks.

“I got to state by a lot of practice. At least once a week, I came in to practice, and it took a lot of hard work, but it really paid off. It feels amazing to be going to state. I, however, have never been so anxious and nervous in my life.  I was shaking so bad when it was announced.  Everyone has been telling me how surprised they were that a freshman made state, and I’m right there with them. I was honestly shocked I had made it, because I could have done it A LOT better.  I’m so excited for state, though, and so thankful for all Mrs. Johnson’s and Mr. Hopkins’ help,” said Easter.

Coach Nathan Hopkins was pleased with how the season turned out.

“The team was off to a shaky start, and this year’s team is composed of a few returners and several freshmen. Still, our members competed well for their team’s size, and hard work was rewarded,” Hopkins said.

“I think the team had a slow start this year, but really pulled together at the end. As with any performance in any activity, practice makes perfect. Performers will always improve with more practice and with guidance from their coaches.  We are especially proud of Caitlin Easter who made it to state as a freshmen.  At District Speech competition, students compete for slots to state against all level schools as well as performers, so reaching that level as a freshman is a huge success, and Caitlin worked hard this year to reach that level,” said coach Katie Johnson.