KEARNEY –Wayne High had six individuals competing in four different categories during 2019 NSAA State Speech Championships.
Throughout the day Thursday speakers were making their way through the rounds in search of a finals berth and state medal.
Christopher Woerdemann earned a third-place medal from the Extemporaneous Speaking category recording 16 points for the team.
The top five were all within three points as Woerdemann was tied at 143 points and earned the judges preference for third. Isaac Davis also competed in the same category.
Other state competitors were the Oral Interpretation of Drama team (Liam Spieker, Dylan Anderson, Davis, Woerdemann and Walker Hochstein) and Maura Loberg (Informative Speaking). All Wayne performances earned Superior ratings as well.
In the team sweepstakes, Wayne tied with Crete for 17th with 16 points. The top Class B team was York with 126 points while Columbus Lakeview and Aurora tied for runner-up with 68 points each.
State Speech continues for Classes C2, D1 and D2 Friday. Awards will be issued around 4 p.m. for D2, 5 p.m. for C2 and 6 p.m. for D1 speakers.