Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Following countless hours of practice, Potter-Dix earned first place at the Minuteman Activities Conference Speech competition, held on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at Potter-Dix.
"People, and even the students, don't really know the time and dedication it takes to be successful at speech. It's just like practicing and performing for any sport," head coach Chandell Oleson said. "The skills these students learn in speech will be utilized for the rest of their lives."
Oleson, with assistant coaches Kristin Kasten and Evelyn Hornbarger, works with a team of 15 students at least three times each week, and their work paid off when each Potter-Dix team member placed at MAC.
With the exception of 2015-16, the Potter-Dix team has won the MAC conference for more than 30 consecutive years, according to Oleson, who began as an assistant coach in 2013 and became the head coach in 2016.
On their way to taking top team honors, the Coyotes earned first place finishes in several categories, including Informative Speaking, Persuasive Speaking, Serious Prose and Duet.
Michaela Rotert placed first in Informative Speaking with Leyton's Janessa Carley in second and Mary Kasten, also from Potter-Dix in third.
Payge Hoffman earned first place in Persuasive with Sarah Reish of Bayard in second and South Platte's Catherine Hobbs in third.
Audrey Juelfs was first in Serious Prose followed by South Platte's Paige Brown and Leyton's Sierra Nickel. Mikayla Cook earned sixth place.
Juelf's Duet with Brooke Moench took first place followed by teammates Ginny and JT Herboldsheimer and Creek Valley's Duet team of Pierce Leef and Sami Schmid.
Hannah Stahl took second in Humorous Prose behind first place Rayanne Blau from Bayard. Potter-Dix's Donnie Moench earned sixth in the same category. Ginny Herboldsheimer earned third in Extemporaneous Speaking and teammate Michael Steele earned fifth.
The Oral Interpretation of Drama team from Potter-Dix, comprised of Jessica Gingerich, Mary Kasten and Hannah Stahl, earned second place behind Leyton's team. Teammates Terell Gray, JT Herboldsheimer, Brooke Moench and Reagan Williams earned fourth place as a team.
The Potter-Dix team earned a total of 141 points on the day followed by Leyton with 104, South Platte with 86, Garden County with 71, Bayard with 42, Creek Valley with 29, Minatare with 23 and Banner County with 10.