On Saturday March 6, the AHS speech team competed at district speech in Gothenburg. All eight members of the team traveled in hopes of qualifying for a chance to compete at state. 

At districts, each member is only allowed to compete in two events. Senior, Saphina Achi competed in Persuasive and Poetry. Senior, Jayden Moomey competed in Interpretation of Humorous Prose and Interpretation of Serious Prose. Junior, Julia Wilson competed in Entertainment and Interpretation of Humorous Prose. Junior, Chloe Mann competed in Informative and Persuasive. Junior, Morgan Moomey competed in Duet Acting and Entertainment. Sophomore, Annaka Digmann competed in Duet Acting and Interpretation of Serious Prose. Sophomore, Kimber Romick competed in Informative. Freshman, Kalli Bridge competed in Poetry and  Extemporaneous Speaking. 

After all the competitors participated in their rounds, they anxiously waited to see who made finals. Finals consist of the top six people in each round. Three of the eight members made finals. These members were Jayden Moomey in Interpretation of Serious Prose, Saphina Achi in Persuasive, and Julia Wilson in Entertainment. 

There was a tie in Persuasive, so the top seven made finals. Finally, it was time for awards. Achi placed seventh, Wilson placed sixth, and Moomey placed fourth. Unfortunately, only the top three places qualify for state.

In an interview with head coach Dr. Christina Kloch, she expressed that her “…expectations for districts were that [they] had worked hard and would do well.” Compared to district speech in the past, “[The team] had more events to make to finals than we have had in the past few years.” When asked her thoughts on the season as a whole, she responded, “I am very proud of our team this year. We are growing and have a great mix of experienced and new members. Everyone worked hard and showed improvement this year.” Kloch also stated that she is “…excited to see what next year brings.” 

The speech team had a great season, finaling 24 times in the span of the season. It is incredibly hard to do what they do with only eight people. The SPUD wishes the AHS speech team luck in their next season!