Thirty-two Greene County High School students are ready to compete this Saturday at the Iowa High School Speech Association State Large Group Contest.

One of those students is senior Jack Hansen who is competing in group improvisation and short film. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio how perfect, by chance, group improvisation was at districts that also included Esther Van Horn, Gavin Vander Linden and Ava Schilling, was.

“We got lucky. In the gym at districts,we rehearsed an improv with a dog in it, and we’re like, ‘Oh this one would be really good,’ because Esther played the dog, and she’s kind of a fireball; and then Gavin played a really scared, kind of a dorky kid; and I played like a tough guy, and then Ava played the stern, kind of parent of the dog, or whatever. Then we got our topics and found out that there was a friend gifting a dog and it worked out perfectly, we kind of knew exactly what to do.”     

Sophomore Leah McCormick describes her reaction to making it to state in choral reading, with Lucy Vander Linden, Savannah Lansman, Ella Ostrander, Jocelyn Velazco, Natalie Towers, Evelyn Snyder, London Harris, Ella Mohr, and Makenna Dzuris; along with radio broadcasting with Van Horn.

“For choral reading that was a nice surprise not only to me, but to all the other girls I worked with. I felt really happy for them because it’s hard to kind of talk in sync, and it wasn’t as much pressure as radio broadcasting, whereas you plan that out (and) that’s not live. Esther (Van Horn) and I actually listened to that radio broadcasting segment for the first time about ten minutes before we presented it. So we kind of got our live reaction with the judges. So making that to state was pretty surprising, I’d say.”     

The Rams are taking seven entries to the state contest on Saturday at Ankeny Centennial High School. Entries can qualify for the all-state festival by receiving a Division I-rating and being nominated by the room judges. 

Reader’s Theater (The 10 Worst Things About High School):  Ella Shipley, Emma Shipley, Hailey Carman, Ava Binkley, Maggie Mikkelsen, Brooklyn Roberts, Brooke Williams, Sadie Shannon, Payton Kokenge, Violet Reedy, Kamden Kinne, Jacob Harmeyer, Lane Fields, Noah Cornell

Choral Reading (Carla’s Sandwich):  Lucy Vander Linden, Leah McCormick, Savannah Lansman, Ella Ostrander, Jocelyn Velazco, Natalie Towers, Evelyn Snyder, London Harris, Ella Mohr, Makenna Dzuris 

Short Film: Nathan Ausberger, Jack Hansen, Gavin Vander Linden, Bill Wright, Daniel Strawn

Group Improv: Jack Hansen, Esther Van Horn, Gavin Vander Linden, Ava Schilling 

Radio Broadcasting: Esther Van Horn and Leah McCormick

Radio Broadcasting:  Bill Wright and Daniel Strawn

Musical Theater (What is this Feeling? Wicked): Olivia Hoyt and Hailey Carman