Davis, Westerholt To Compete At State
Connor Strange
Staff Writer
Waverly High’s speech team made their way to the district competition at Humboldt on Wednesday, March 19, and out of the competitors, two speakers were rewarded with the promise of state. Senior and former state champion Caitlin Davis will perform her persuasive speech, and junior Riley Westerholt her collection of poems for the upcoming event on Thursday.
Their performances each had a unique spin to them, and they approached two very different topics. Caitlin’s was about the increasingly inconsiderate nature of the world.
“Incivility: the fact that people nowadays are so far removed from being kind to others that they don’t understand what’s happening when someone is nice to them,” Davis said.
Her speech was a persuasive piece to prompt better (and kinder) social interactions, and she had her own reasons for choosing that style.
“I like arguing without people able to argue back, which sounds narcissistic and stupid,” Davis said jokingly. “That way, it’s more of an encouragement for people to try and be civil.”
Westerholt chose a different route, instead channeling her adolescent expertise to craft her slam poem.
“I have a poetry speech about awkward love,” Westerholt said. “Being a teenager, awkward love is something I relate to best.”
The junior used her experience as a teen to transform her poem into a truly uncomfortable masterpiece.
“My speech is definitely set apart by the slam poems that I used and the amount of awkwardness that I managed to fit in,” Westerholt said.
As the girls prepare themselves for the considerable competition to be found at state, they will need to revise and rethink their speeches.
“I'm going to go over judges’ suggestions and see what fits best into what I want this performance to sound and look like,” Westerholt said.
These two have worked tirelessly to perfect the speeches, and their efforts have paid off as they get ready to represent Waverly’s speech department at state.
“I was pretty happy with the results of the day overall,” head speech coach Erin Konecky said. “Last year, just Caitlin qualified so I was looking to make it two people.”
