WAYNE – The Wausa High School speech team talked its way into a top-five finish for the second consecutive competition.
Wausa placed fourth overall out of more than 20 teams at the Wayne High/Wayne State Classic on Feb. 3, a week after finishing in the same position at the Hartington- Newcastle/Cedar Catholic Invitational.
Wayne was the champion of its 2024 home meet with 299 points, followed by Boone Central with 262, Hartington-Newcastle with 234, Wausa with 174, Crofton with 129 and O’Neill with 106.
Husband-and-wife duo Kyle and Samantha Stevens are the co-coaches of the Wausa speech team.
“The team took a big step in the right direction this week,” Kyle Stevens said. “The students are working hard, and we are starting to get some positive momentum.”
Wausa senior Holly Johnson has finished as the individual champion of Entertainment Speaking for two meets in a row.
She described herself as “very surprised and honored” to receive first place in that event at Wausa’s past two meets.
“This is something that I really hoped for and it’s a great way to start my last season of speech,” Johnson said. “I am sad that this is my last season because speech is one of my favorite activities, but I am also ready to move on from it.”
The title of the speech she has been giving in Entertainment Speaking this year is “How to Make a Man Fall in Love with You.”
“The speech is me explaining how to get a boyfriend, but slowly develops into me being delusional,” Johnson said. “At the end of the speech, I end up kidnapping a man to make my boyfriend.”
There were three sets of individual finals during the Wayne speech meet – the top six finishers in the Champs Final, the next six finishers in the Honors Final and the next six finishers in the Merit Final.
Wausa’s medalists in the Champs Final were: - Senior Holly Johnson, champion, Entertainment Speaking, and second, Serious Prose.
- Sophomore Braydon Hoesing and freshman Rogan Hoesing, second, Duet Acting.
- Senior Holly Johnson, senior Claire Kumm, senior Cade Wakeley, junior Kendall Story and sophomore Avery Stevens, second, Oral Interpretation of Drama.
- Sophomore Luke Woockman, fifth, Entertainment Speaking.
- Senior Addison Wynia, fifth, Informative Speaking.
- Senior Cade Wakeley, sixth, Humorous Prose.
Wausa’s medalists in the Honors Final were: - Sophomore Braydon Hoesing, first, Program of Oral Interpretation, and third, Humorous Prose.
- Senior Hadley Vanness, sophomore Cody Bloomquist, sophomore Taylor Dawson, sophomore Alijah Nelson and sophomore Gaven Nipp, third, Oral Interpretation of Drama.
- Sophomore Alijah Nelson, fourth, Humorous Prose.
- Freshman Rogan Hoesing, fourth, Informative Speaking.
- Sophomore Avery Stevens, fourth, Persuasive Speaking.
Wausa’s only medalist in the Merit Final was senior Claire Kumm, who placed second in Persuasive Speaking.
Wausa is set to host its own speech invitational on Feb. 10.
“We are proud of them, and we can’t wait to see what they will do in Wausa this Saturday,” Kyle Stevens said.
