Area students participate in state speech

Area high school students from Thayer Central, Bruning-Davenport, Deshler and Shickley participated in the 2011 State Speech Tournament last week. The annual competition was held at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

Thayer Central and Deshler students competed in the C2 division.

For Thayer Central, sophomore Russell Heitmann collected a third place medal in Persuasive Speaking earning a perfect 50 points in the first round, 48 in the second and a cumulative 144 points in the final phase. Senior Clinton Rosencrans finished with 43 points in the first round and 44 points in the second round for his performance in Entertainment Speaking.

For Deshler, sophomore Craig Meier finished with 43 and 45 points  in the Humorous Interpretation of Prose division while senior Tabitha Burger finished with 47 and 46 points  in Serious Interpretation of Prose. Teammates Amanda Petersen, a junior, and Stephanie Schroeder, a senior, finished just out of contention with 48 points in each of the first two rounds for their performance in the Duet Acting division while junior Krista Schardt finished with 46 and 45 points in Informative Public Speaking.

Bruning-Davenport and Shickley  students competed in the D2 division.

For Bruning-Davenport, sophomore Cassidy Bentley finished with 45 and 46 points for Serious Interpretation of Prose while classmate Tara Pavelka earned 46 points in both rounds one and two in Persuasive Speaking. The Oral Interpretation of Drama (OID) team including sophomores Anthony Ferebee, Shane Heyen and Nolan Schroeder, and junior Jacob McGinley finished in sixth place after collecting 48 points in each of the first two rounds and 136 cumulative points in the finals.

For Shickley, junior Anna Lichti finished fifth for her performance in Entertainment Speaking collecting 49 points in each of the first two rounds and 137 cumulative points in the finals. Classmate Marissa Hochstetler finished with 46 and 47 points in Informative Public Speaking.