About two months following the cancellation of the Iowa High School Speech Association’s individual state contest, two Guthrie County high schools came together virtually to give some achievement and closure to students.

The Adair-Casey/Guthrie Center and Panorama speech coaches organized an online contest on May 19th for those who advanced from the District contest in March. The IHSSA released rules in April that schools would have to follow to hold their own state contests, and ACGC and Panorama held their contests over the Zoom platform, with the students performing live from their homes to judges, which did have some complications, especially for the musical theatre entries.

ACGC Coach Kelsey Moran describes how the contest went, “For the most part everything was pretty similar to an in-person “real” contest, it’s just kids had to sit there certain times to sign in and then they left the Zoom call as soon as their performance was over. If they had a second performance then they signed in later. It ran so smoothly, it’s like we’ve done this (before) which obviously we hadn’t. I’m just so glad that they were able to make something work for the kids.”

Within the next day the schools received their ratings and both of them received All-State nominations. Charger students Tommy Bates, Audrey Stowe, and Sophia Rouse earned recognition for literary program and musical theatre, respectively, and Panther students Ruby Hummel and Alejandra Fuente-Bonilla for poetry and musical theatre, respectively. Panorama Coach Deb Arganbright thinks the contest went as expected as a usual in-person contest, “I think it was pretty fair judging and I know we usually have at least one or two or three students go to individual All-State so I think it’s about how we normally perform and I think Kelsey would probably say the same about her team too.”

Not all of the students who qualified for state participated in the virtual contest, which Moran and Arganbright both empathized with, but they’re glad they got to give some closure to the students wrapping up a memorable school year.

ACGC Results:

STRAIGHT I’s:

Audrey Stowe – Literary Program
Tommy Bates – Musical Theatre
Sophia Rouse – Acting
Kiersten Knobbe – Expository Address

SPLIT I’s:
Sophia Rouse – Literary Program

SPLIT II’:
Carter Hanson – Radio
Kiersten Knobbe – After Dinner

Panorama Results:

STRAIGHT I’s
Ruby Hummel- Poetry
Shekynah Haworth- Acting
Alejandra Fuente Bonilla- Acting
Alejandra Fuente Bonilla- Solo Musical Theater
Lauren Soll- Prose

SPLIT I’s (two 1’s and a 2)
Lauren Soll- Poetry
Ruby Hummel- Public Address
Shekynah Haworth- Spontaneous Speaking
William Silva- Expository Address

SPLIT II’s
Samantha Mortensen- Solo Musical Theater
Madison Livesay- Solo Musical Theater