Speech team earns 1 ratings

DAVENPORT — Montezuma High School speech team had an excellent day at large group speech contest hosted by Pleasant Valley High School in Davenport Feb. 3.

Montezuma took eight events to state and every event was awarded a 1 rating.

Grinnell high school earned 12 Division I ratings.

Two Montezuma groups were nominated for the highest honor of All State recognition: “Ordinary Days,” a musical theater piece about a couple working hard to make their relationship work amid tragedy, featuring Kaya Latcham and Isabella Roorda, and coached by Kelly Kaup; and “Lucky Ones,” a choral reading based on the true story of Holocaust survivor Dr. Edith Eva Egers, coached by Liesl Roorda and Dianne Singleton and written by Singleton.

"Lucky Ones“ featured Bryn Fantazia, Claire Erselius, Faith Ferry, Gracie Wilson, Isabella Roorda, Kaya Latcham, Letisia Wilson, Lily Shoemaker, Lydia Singleton, Madison Van Zee, Mya Smothers, Taylor Wilcox, Jayden Doll and Eli Smothers.

The group will perform at the large group All State festival on the Cy Stevens stage at Iowa State University Saturday, Feb. 17.

Results

Ordinary Days — Kaya Latcham and Isabella Roorda — earned All State recognition.

Mean Girls — Addyson Probasco, Camryn Brennan, Faith Ferry, Gracie Wilson, Lily Shoemaker and Owen Desrochers.

At the Ballet — Hayley Burnett, Lydia Singleton and Mya Smothers.

Choral Reading — Bryn Fantazia, Claire Erselius, Faith Ferry, Gracie Wilson, Isabella Roorda, Kaya Latcham, Letisia Wilson, Lily Shoemaker, Lydia Singleton, Madison Van Zee, Mya Smothers, Taylor Wilcox, Jayden Doll and Eli Smothers — earned All State recognition.

Radio Broadcasting — Jack Erselius, Alex Black, Eli Smothers, Carson VanDerHart, Tod Geiger and Bryson Stockman.

Improv — (Team one) — Addyson Probasco, Claire Erselius, Taylor Wilcox, Lola Miller, Owen Desrochers. (Team two) — Laila Kercheval, Camryn Brennan, Hayley Burnett, Jayden Doll and Letisia Wilson.

Mime — Carrie Ann and Loki Harris.

Grinnell

Grinnell High School took 13 varsity groups and six ninth grade groups to the state contest Overall, 12 groups received Division I ratings and seven received Division II ratings.

Two ninth-grade group improv teams qualified for state. The team of Penelope Fennell, Slane McCue and Lucy Skouson received a Division II rating; Mallorie Arlint and Frances Pedersen received a Division I.

Due to illness, the Musical Theatre “A Year with Frog and Toad” had to drop out, but the group mime team was able to perform with an emergency substitution.

“Cirque du Slay” featured Mallorie Arlint, Penelope Fennell, River Haenfler, Lucy Lindberg and Lucy Skouson, with Frances Pedersen subbing learning her role the night before.

The ninth grade team also qualified three short films as part of the new stop-motion animation course taught at GHS by Alicia Carradus.

“The Air Raid,” by Gabe Bahrenfuse, “Something Sketchy,” by Liam Han, and “The Broken Sword,” by Dash Norris, all received overall Division II ratings.

In the digital category, radio broadcasting, Billy Lopatto and Myles Manley received a Division I rating for their entry “KGFR.” The varsity team also presented the short film “Caedes,” featuring Kaia Chang Roper, Moby Ostby and Ava Valencic, which received a Division II rating.

Three group improvisation teams also performed at State. Two teams consisting of Cameron Corey and Ketsia Kiphanzu and Will Dahlby Albright, Roman Mackenzie and Jeslyn Voogd both received Division II ratings.

Owen Shepardson and Nathan Vander Leest received an overall Division I.

In the category of ensemble acting, “Angels in America,” featuring Natalie Nieuwsma and Cameron Thompson, earned a Division I rating.

GHS also performed a readers theatre titled “Ray and Milo,” directed by Ms. Flinspach, which earned a Division I rating. It features Tobias Crandall, Roman Mackenzie, Reece Madren, Charlie Nicklas, Moby Ostby, Anna Schubert, Peyton Stensrud and Jeslyn Voogd.

The choral reading, “Look,” written and directed by Hosbond, received a Division I as well. It features Chloe Alger, Eli Boyd, Cameron Corey, Joel Dressler, Kiran Elfenbein, Mary Jacobson, Maggie Kaup, Ketsia Kiphanzu, Judith Perez-Valentin, Anna Schubert, Catherine Schubert, Smith Skouson and Peyton Stevenson.

Both musical theatre groups received Division I ratings. “Sunday in the Park with George” features Joel Dressler and Maggie Kaup. “Urinetown” features Will Dahlby Albright, Ian Durr, Elisabeth Kelley-Chown, Billy Lopatto, Brody Petig, Catherine Schubert, Thea Sherman and Peyton Stensrud.

Both teams were directed by Hosbond with musical direction by GHS choir teacher Michael Gookin.

The One-Act Play “Reflex Action”, which was directed by Flinspach, received a Division I. The cast and crew includes Forrest Behrens, Diane Boyd, Eli Boyd, Tobias Crandall, Elisabeth Kelley-Chown, Mackenzie Kohl, Reece Madren, Myles Manley, Ellie Mintle, Charlie Nicklas, Natalie Nieuwsma, Owen Shepardson, Cameron Thompson and Lucy Turley.

One team qualified in group mime and one in solo mime; both received Division I ratings.

“The Spider-Woman” features Chloe Alger, Sarah Ashing, Forrest Behrens, Kiran Elfenbein, Cora Miller and Peyton Stevenson. Alger, Elfenbein and Miller are returning from last year’s Critic’s Choice Award mime “The Heist.”

In solo mime, Cora Miller presented “The Bunny”, a story inspired by her own pet. All pieces were written and directed by Hosbond with the ensemble.

Due to a postponement at the State contest in Ankeny, the All-State nominations were not available Monday.