Four students compete at State Speech
“They Gon’ Speak, and They Gon’ Win!”
by Cassandra Harper
The Class D1 state speech tournament was once again held in Kearney on Friday, March 28th. Three talented “speechers” from Clarkson got to perform at UNK, and some teammates got to tag along.
Senior Erika Rupprecht made it to state with her humorous prose about a girl who unexpectedly wins the science fair. Also, seniors Kaleb Papousek and John Steffensmeier along with junior Christopher Konicek made it with their Oral Interpretation of Drama named “The Big Bang.” Both entries qualified for finals at the state competition because of their outstanding performances. Each time they performed, these speakers just got better, making the audience crack up at the hilarity.
After a long day filled with more than a few laughs, it came down to the awards ceremony. Erika Rupprecht was proud to have won 3rd place. The next announcement was was for OID, and the suspense was unbearable. As rankings were named, Konicek, Steffensmeier, and Papousek got closer and closer to being champions. Third place was what they had expected, but they were greeted with the pleasant surprise of runner-up! The Clarkson student section went ballistic as the boys walked up to receive their medals. These boys went out with One. Big. Bang.