WACO High School had two students compete in the Large Group Speech District Competition at Keota High School on Saturday. With their performance in the Group Improvisation event, both advanced to the Iowa High School Speech Association’s State Speech Contest in Cedar Rapids.

Sophomores Jaklyn Cook and Tanner Egli earned a Division 1 rating, performing the prompt “An opera singer leading a group of lost people”. Group Improvisation requires students to choose a prompt on the day of the competition. They are then given two minutes to develop a story with a beginning, middle, and end, which they present in front of the audience. As Cook explained to KCII, “It’s really impromptu, so we didn’t have much preparation. You go in, you get three prompts, you decide which one you’re doing, and you do it!”.

Despite this daunting task, Egli spoke on the benefits that speech has provided. “The thinkers and performers all in one space encouraging each other, it’s really cool,” he said. “It pushes me out of my comfort zone and it challenges my abilities and my thinking going forward.”

Cook and Egli will perform at the IHSSA State Large Group Contest on Saturday, February 4 at Cedar Rapids Washington High School.