Staples-Motley qualifies 11 for state speech contest

Staples-Motley High School will have a strong presence at the Class A state speech tournament Friday with 11 competitors and two alternates.

Staples-Motley speech team members who qualified to compete at the state tournament include: Courtney Lovelace, junior, poetry; Bernadette Shaffer, junior, drama; Jacob Swenson, senior, creative expression; Peter Lund, senior, alternate in creative expression; Kayla Peterson, junior, dramatic duo; Sarah Fellman, junior, dramatic duo; Christopher Olsen, freshman, storytelling; Ephrem Shaffer, eighth-grader, storytelling; Joe Dallmann, senior, drama; Dominique Bogema, senior, alternate in prose; Tyler Huss, senior, creative expression; Nathan Beard, junior, dramatic duo; and Tim Thorman, junior, dramatic duo.

From Brainerd, Franklin Junior High School freshman Andrew Kubas will represent the speech team at the Class AA state speech tournament Saturday.