Montezuma Speech students ‘nail it’ in state individual speech contests

   The Montezuma High School was the host site of State Individual Speech Contests on Saturday, March 13.
   Thanks to Covid, Montezuma has hosted speech competitions in both large group and individual classes three times this year.
   “We were so thrilled to be able to offer our students and others from neighboring schools the opportunity to perform in front of live judges as they showed off their hard work through inspiring, fun, and thoughtful pieces,” said speech coach Liesl Roorda. 
     “We have a phenomenal group of coaches (Kelly Kaup, Macy Taylor, Liz VanGorp) who have poured heart and soul, along with great amounts of time, into our students to help them grow and achieve things that many previously had no idea they could do.  The number of students who were first timers was tremendous and the pay-offs will be life-long as they gained confidence along with skill and learned how to battle nerves, disappointment and frustration.”
    “Our Saturday went really well,” noted speech coach Macy Taylor. “Our students came and delivered to our three judges after a very, very busy few weeks cheering on our girls’ and boys’ basketball teams. We couldn’t be more proud of our kids' dedication to their pieces! It was overall a great day!”
      Our talented improv performers entertained us with their whitty and quick-thinking characters,” said speech coach Kelly Kaup. “All three earning much deserved state “1” ratings. Each Musical Theater solo earned the honor of “1” ratings as well with outstanding pieces. The hard work these students put in over the last two hectic weeks since districts was well worth the effort. Many performers showed remarkable growth since districts and put on a performance they should be very proud of.”
State Individual Speech Contest Results: 
Marty Knox, Poetry 1,1,1 = 1
Peter Roberts, Public Address 1,1,1 = 1
Eli Bustamante, Prose 1,2,1 = 1
Kailey Shaffer, Acting 1,1,1 = 1
Kailey Shaffer, Prose 1,1,1 = 1
Camryn Brennan, Prose 1,1,1 = 1
Camryn Brennan, Musical Theatre 1,1,1 = 1
Lydia Singleton, Musical Theatre 1,1,1 = 1
Haley Roorda, Musical Theatre 1,1,1 = 1
Haley Roorda, Improvisation 1,1,1 = 1
Alexis Ferneau, Improvisation 1,1,1 = 1
Kiara Bru, Improvisation 1,1,1 = 1
Kiara Bru, Musical Theatre 1,1,1 = 1
Brayden Stockman, Musical Theatre 1,1,1 = 1
Elaina Singleton, Acting 1,1,1 = 1