IOWA CITY

It was quite the successful day for the Highland Huskie speech team at the district large group speech competition on the campus of Iowa City Liberty High School, as both performances qualified for the state large group speech competition. In order to qualify for the state competition, a performance must receive a rating of I from a judge that critiques each performance.

The first performance of the day came in the radio broadcasting category. The broadcast was titled “KNOW,” and was themed around the infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper. Seniors Gwen Piette, Allyana Pokorny, Andrew Lana, and Rayne Foley all participated in the broadcast along with Sophomore Greta Piette.

The second performance of the day came in the musical theater category. Singing and acting were sisters Gwen and Greta Piette to a song from the musical “Guys and Dolls.”

Head speech coach Jayme Kallaus remarked on what was another triumphant day for the Highland speech program, starting with the radio broadcast.

“They did a great job. It was super entertaining. Their flow and creativity really showed through,” Kallaus said.

Kallaus also discussed the musical theater performance from the Piette sisters.

“I think they did wonderfully. Each time I see them practice that song and that performance they just keep getting better. I knew practicing with them they had a little more nerves, but you couldn’t tell when they were performing,” Kallaus pointed out.

Up next for the Highland speech team will be the aforementioned state large group competition on Saturday, Feb. 3 in Bettendorf on the campus of Pleasant Valley High School.