The Adair-Casey/Guthrie Center High School Speech team loaded 50 kids and a dozen black boxes into the back of the bus Saturday for the District Speech competition. The team came back from Treynor with plenty to be proud of as seven of the eight entries will be heading to the State competition in less than two weeks.

The categories with entries moving on include: musical theatre (2), mime, improv (2), radio broadcasting, and choral reading. All of the aforementioned entries received “I” ratings from the judges, which is the necessary mark for a state birth and equates to an “excellent” performance. The readers theatre entry, performing “The Joy of Sadness” received a “II” rating, which equates to a “good” performance. Last year AC/GC sent six groups to the state competition, and this is the first time the school has submitted and qualified an entry to state in radio broadcasting.

Head Coach Kelsey Moran tells Raccoon Valley Radio that she is extremely proud of her students’ hard work and effort put into this weekend, but knows there’s still more to accomplish at the state competition. That competition will be held on Saturday, February 3rd at Waukee High School. Those receiving “I” ratings from the four district competitions will compete for a few spots in each category at the All-State Festival in Ames on February 17th. Before the state competition, AC/GC will host a Large Group Speech Showcase on Thursday at 7pm in the high school auditorium. This event is open to the public and the entry is a free-will donation.

Panorama High School will also be sending 13 of their 15 entries to state and West Central Valley High School qualified all three improv teams as well.