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Washington Evening Journal
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Speech team sending seven acts to state contest
Pekin’s High School speech team competed in the Iowa High School Speech Association Individual Speech District Contest Saturday at Cedar Rapids Xavier High School.
Seven of Pekin’s 11 individual performing acts from Saturday will advance to the state competition Saturday, March 11 at North Scott High School after receiving Division I Ratings at the district contest. Pekin High School’s speech team is co-coached by Staci Wright and Jim Eschenbrenner.
“Overall we were happy with the results,” said Wright. “There are always some outcomes that we wish had been different. We don’t always agree with the judges. It’s so subjective. In the end, you have to accept those results. What ultimately matters is that our kids worked really hard preparing for this. They showed a lot of self-discipline and they showed a great deal of personal growth.”
Receiving Division I Ratings were:
Ayla Banes, Solo Improv.
Izabella Earnest, Poetry, “The Fall” by Izabella Earnest.
Izabella Earnest, Musical Theatre, “Alyssa Greene” from the musical The Prom.
Ben Guise, Public Address, “Statement Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee” by John Kerry.
Andrea Hoy, Public Address, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” by Patrick Henry.
Andrea Hoy, Storytelling, “The Monster at the End of this Book” by Jon Stone.
Bo Latcham, Storytelling, “The Sister” by Jim Eschenbrenner.
Receiving Division II Ratings were:
Kayleigh Adrian, Musical Theatre, “Slipping Through My Fingers” from the musical Mamma Mia.
Ayla Banes, Musical Theatre, “My Own Little Corner” from the musical Cinderella.
Alisia Brock, Original Oratory, “Choices” by Alisia Brock.
Alisia Brock, Storytelling, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Numeroff.
“Speech is unlike any team sport. There are no laps to run or group routines to learn. Preparing requires self-discipline — time to work out choreography, learn lines, write poems. These students have put in that time and the results are amazing!” said Eschenbrenner.
“In a school the size of Pekin, many students are involved in several extracurricular activities at the same time. We recognize the teachers, coaches and administrators who have worked with us to manage the tension of multiple schedules and make it possible for a speech program to even exist,” he concluded.
The Pekin Speech and Drama Team also will be hosting its Night of Theatre event on March 25. More information will be coming soon.
Bo Latcham received a Division I Rating for his Storytelling, My Sister, written by Jim Eschenbrenner
Seventh-grader Ian Gentry is too young to compete in speech contests yet, but he hasn’t missed going along to a contest this year with the team. They appreciate his passion for the performing arts and look forward to having him join the team in two years.
Andrea Hoy is advancing to state in two categories after receiving Division I ratings in both Saturday — Public Address, Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death, Patrick Henry; and Storytelling, The Monster at the End of This Book.
Ayla Banes received a Division I Rating for her Solo Improv and a Division II Rating for her Musical Theatre, My Own Little Corner, from the musical, “Cinderella.”
Ben Guise received a Division I Rating for his entry in Public Address, John Kerry's Statement Before The Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Kayleigh Adrian received a Division II Rating for her Musical Theatre performance of Slipping Through My Fingers from “Momma Mia.”
Izabella Earnest will be competing in the state competition in two categories. She received a Division I Rating in Musical Theatre for her performance of Alyssa Greene from the musical “The Prom,” and she received a Divison I Rating for her Poetry entry, The Fall.
Pekin Speech Coach Staci Wright, Ayla Banes, Izabella Earnest, Ian Gentry, Ben Guise, and Andrea Hoy enjoy some down time Saturday.
Pekin Speech Coach Staci Wright, Ayla Banes, Izabella Earnest, Coach Jim Eschenbrenner, Ben Guise, and Andrea Hoy.
