This year’s speech team members are Lauren Hickey, Shannon Kennicutt, Marissa McClung, Xandria Pike, Brooke Brockman, Emily Winter, MaKayla Buell and Alayna Moore. So far, the team has competed at three tournaments. Lauren Hickey placed fifth in Entertainment at the Lexington meet. The Oral Interpretation of Drama (OID) of Lauren Hickey, Shannon Kennicutt, Marissa McClung, and Alayna Moore also placed fifth at Lexington. Brooke Brockman placed sixth in Entertainment and Alayna Moore placed fourth in Humorous Prose at the Cozad meet. At the Broken Bow meet, Lauren Hickey placed 8th in Entertainment and the OID placed 8th.
Elwood speech coach Nicole Salisbury says, “This year's speech team is small, but mighty. We have a group of dedicated individuals who have been practicing every week since October. That work has paid off, as team members have earned some medals already this season. I anticipate more success as the season progresses and speeches become more polished.”
Like all the other school activities, speech has had to make adjustments because of COVID. All of the team’s regular season meets are virtual this year: team members present their speeches to the judge in real-time in front of a laptop or ipad.
“While we feel fortunate that we've been able to have a season and compete, performing in front of a screen has its drawbacks, since a speaker can relate better to a live audience. Our students have rolled with it and adapted well. I'm excited to see how the rest of our season plays out!” commented Salisbury.