Freshman Caitlin Easter exceeded the expectations of her team and coaches as she qualified and competed at the State Speech Tournament on April 25 at Missouri State University. She was the only Warsaw student to qualify.

Easter said she worked very hard to prepare.

“To prepare for state, I practiced a lot more. I practiced during some of my classes, and in front a lot of other students just to make sure that the piece was progressing how I wanted it too.  I worked a lot more with Mrs. Johnson and Mr. Hopkins, and spent a lot of time getting advice in preparation for state.” said Easter.

While Easter did not make it to the final round at state, she still had a good experience and learned from it.

“Caitlin received good comments from her judges,” said coach Katie Johnson.

Johnson said she was proud of Easter’s accomplishment.

“I have never had a freshman make it to state in speech in my entire career,” Johnson said.

Easter said she was proud to compete at that level.

“When I finally got to the campus I was nervous out of my mind. I couldn’t sit still, and I was very anxious.  When I finally stepped into my performance room, however, I just got this rush that I could only describe as adrenaline. I was just ready to perform and get these people’s advice.  When I finished my performances, I was aware I didn’t do as well as I needed to in order to final–it was pretty obvious–but I was just proud to even be there. I have ever felt so accomplished in my entire life, and that experience is something I will always remember.”

She didn’t do as well as she hoped she could because she was sick. She said that she could barely talk, so her performance wasn’t as good as it could’ve been. She said that some judges liked her and some didn’t. She did well, but not well enough to make it to finals.