For the City Times

State Contest Announces Schools Earning Excellence in Speech Awards

LA CROSSE – Seventeen Wisconsin high schools received the highest recognition at the recent State Speech Festival in Madison.

The Wisconsin High School Forensic Association held its 123rd annual event on the campus of UW-Madison. This past weekend, approximately 4,300 students from 341 high schools across the state participated. Students had to advance from two qualifying level contests to perform at the State contest, which is one of the largest in the country.

Judges rated each student or performing group, and the top five percent of point-earning schools are being recognized with Excellence in Speech Awards, with the school and teacher each presented with a plaque. This year, 17 schools earned this honor (sorted by school, alphabetically):

School (with city listed, if not in name of school)
Baldwin-Woodville High School Angela Schmoker
Barneveld High School Duane Draper
Boscobel High School Jean Salzgeber
Burlington High School Robbie Twohig
Darlington High School Carmen Rielly
DeForest High School Tom August
Ellsworth High School Jennifer Kieren
Fennimore High School Carrie Krogman
Lake Mills High School Brenda Morris
Lakeside Lutheran High School, Lake Mills Stephen Lauber
Lincoln High School, Wisconsin Rapids Cathy Tritz
Menomonie High School Andrea Smith
Platteville High School Cheryl Schober
River Valley High School, Spring Green Misty Fredrick
Somerset High School Carolyn Spoerl
Waunakee High School Walter Stenz
Wrightstown High School David Winkler

“Students in our academic sport practice long hours to hone their skills and meet expectations upon which they will be judged,” said WHSFA Executive Director Adam Jacobi. “These schools represent consistent performance across a variety of contest events at our festival, and should be lauded for their performance.”