Black books and suits and medals, oh my! The Hastings High speech team has wrapped up their season.
“People typically underestimate us, but we were a really strong team this year,” freshman and novice Maggie Nielsen said.
The speech team met each Wednesday after school, along with a required private meeting with the coach, Max Funkey, any other day of the week. It only has to be a big time commitment if the student wants it to be. For freshman Haley Mazour, sophomores Donovan Hemphill and Eleanor Ferrone, junior Annie Davis, and seniors Emily Blunck and Collin Spilinek, speech was a big part of their lives and it showed by the awards that they all received at some point during the season.
“We have a lot of really talented members on the team this year, and that is mainly because they work so hard,” Funkey said.
With excellence comes fun. There are many beneficial aspects of speech, including meeting new people from all areas of Nebraska.
“I’m not always the most social person, so it’s nice to get out of my comfort zone. I have made a lot of new friends from Hastings, and a lot of friends from far away in Nebraska. It’s cool to see someone that you know from other schools, like St. Cecilia,” Nielsen said.
Although the team didn’t perform as well as expected at districts with nobody making it to finals, the Hastings High Speech Team had a great run during the regular season.
