ABOVE: The Fairmont Speech team, which has swelled in numbers from 35 to 52, sits for a group photo after one of their first meets of the season. Front row, left to right: Cooper Gudahl, Bel Lutterman, Matthew Senneff, Megan Wheeler, Anthony Klanderud, Levi Loughmiller and Thomas Hamlet. Second row, left to right: Allie Streit, Natalie Flaherty, Michelle Esquivel, Bella Coan, Erin Spencer, Julia Sathoff, Calixta Tessendorf, Evie Folkerts, Emma Schmidt, Evan Reyelts and William Hamlet. Third row, left to right: Max Coan, Lila Klunder, Melody Cordova, Julia Reyelts, Elin Scheppmann, Georgia Werre, Izzy Soelter, Lillyan Matheson, Norah Heille, Jackson Henning. Back row, left to right: Addie Lintelman, Raegan Olson, Gwen Edman, Jenna Fett, Ellie Wurster, Jonas Krist, Collin Reyelts and Leon Yang. Not pictured: Sophie Streit, Audrey Streit, Reyna Juhl, Hannah Siebring, Wendy Medina Ambrosio, Thor Olson, Faith Eckles, Molly Johnson, Gabbie Thoeny, Owen Slinde, Marley Perkins and Feven Hoyer. Submitted photo.

FAIRMONT – With the success of last year still fresh in their minds, Fairmont’s Speech team has had a surge in participation and an eye on growth.

Last year, Speech won the Section 2A championship and placed third, competing against all Section A teams.

Individually, Leon Yang placed fourth in the Humorous category in national competitions in Kansas City and Des Moines. Dominick Lund-May also took fourth for Impromptu Speech in Kansas City. Overall, five students qualified for national events, with two being accepted as alternates.

Now, Speech Coach Kathleen Walker said that their team, which has expanded from 35 to 52 students, has a team-wide focus on bringing everyone to a solid level.

“Our goals are to work really hard to learn the fundamentals of speech,” she said. “We have a lot of new people, anywhere from seventh through 12th graders, joining the team. We’ve been spending a lot of extra time in the front loading of the season teaching fundamental skills; learning how to find a script, how to connect to scripts, know if it’s a good fit for you, how to stand up in front of the room and speak.”

While the workload has increased, Walker said it is amazing to see this influx of new students into speech.

“I think it’s a testament to the upper classmen that have already done speech,” she said. “They find ways in their school to notice ability in other kids that are involved in other activities and say, ‘Hey, I think you’d be really good at speech, you should join.'”

So far this season, Fairmont has competed in six events. Of these, Walker said four of them have been in the metro area. Senior Bel Lutterman discussed the level of competition they encounter at speech events.

“We get to see competitors that speech is their thing,” she said. “Around here, it’s really common for kids to be involved in a bunch of activities. As you concentrate more towards that metro area, we face a lot of teams who have programs that work consistently year-round, programs that are nationally known and students who are nationally ranked. We face competitors that make it to the national final rounds.”

Lutterman and Senior Cooper Gudahl are in their final years, which makes this their final opportunity to hone their skills and compete. Lutterman has worked since July on her Original Oratory piece, and Gudahl is putting the finishing touches on his Dramatic Interpretation piece as they continue through the early part of the season.

For Lutterman, her experience in speech has helped her understand things beyond the obvious of public speaking skills.

“Being a part of this team is a lot about learning to understand what it takes to reach success,” she said. “We do a lot of intentional goal setting from things like, ‘When do you want to start your season? When do you want your first draft done? Do you want to qualify for nationals? When you get to nationals, do you have goals to break into those elimination rounds?’ I think when we set those goals, we learn a lot in speech what trusting the process looks like.”

Gudahl first joined Speech as a junior. While his experience isn’t as tenured as others, he still has a firm grasp on what Speech has taught him.

“There’s never any negative to being yourself and embracing the talent and ability you have,” Gudahl said. “Speech really taught me how to be more confident. Standing in front of a room and talking is not hard for me anymore; it’s easier for me to connect to people, to be more effective in social environments. I can articulate myself better because I’ve watched all of these speeches, and I’ve spoken in front of so many people.”

As the ball continues to get rolling on this season, Walker said the big focus is on helping everyone find their fit.

“The right category, the right speech,” she said. “I’m not intimidated by a student doing a speech for a few competitions, and then they come back to me and say, ‘It’s not a good fit.’ We’re trying to make sure everyone has got what is going to make them feel the most confident and passionate about a topic or a selection they’ve chosen.”