On February 6, the GHS Speech team hosted their speech showcase for everyone in town to see. This showcase involved Lilianna Asta ‘26, Caitlin Kennedy ‘27, Seven Smith ‘28, Adison Leitzinger ‘25, Julia Dominiak ‘25, Evon Main ‘27 and Macklan Murphy ‘27. These performances ranged from original speeches about the psychology behind competition, all the way to a humorous duet about the Titanic.
Asta ‘26 said, “I think that this showcase went really well for me. It was good practice before the real stuff like regionals, and it hyped us up a lot.” Regionals took place on February 8, allowing these students to have some extra practice in front of a crowd. Dominiak ‘25 said, “I was really proud of how I did, and I think that people really enjoyed it.” The audience only had compliments to give to these kids as they congratulated them.
As soon as regionals came by, the speech bus was full of excitement. Main ‘27 said, “I was pretty nervous going into regionals, but I just needed to remind myself that I was capable of doing this.” Everyone on the speech team made sure to support one another and help with each other’s stress. Kennedy ‘27 said, “What made regionals so great was having people by my side to remind me that I’m doing okay, it helped calm me down a lot.”
The GHS Speech team came out with success as they ended up with five events making it to regionals. Main ‘27, Asta ‘26, Dominiak ‘25, and Murphy ‘27 all advanced onto IHSA sectionals. Dominiak ‘25 said, “This was a big achievement for me, especially since I made it in two events.” When asked about what really helped them this season, the team all agreed on the support from each other. Asta ‘26 said, “It can get really easy to be harsh on yourself when you think you aren’t doing good, but this team provided me with the support I needed and they always have. That’s what makes speech so great.”
Although the team didn’t get to state, all the members still keep their heads held high with the excitement they have for next year. GHS Speech coach Susan Bookless said, “I think we had a really strong season and everyone did really well. I’m proud of what we made happen this year, and I can’t wait to see what next season brings us.”
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