On Saturday, March 9, the Dubuque Senior Speech Team competed in the 2024 State Individual Event Speech Contest at Hampton-Dumont CAL High School in Hampton, Iowa. The team received overall Division I ratings in 46 performances.

The Hempstead High School Speech Team had a six students receive Division I ratings in seven performances. The students were coached by Harmony Roe and Don Stanner. The contest is sponsored by the Iowa High School Speech Association.

The Dubuque Senior Speech Team also received 26 Outstanding Performance nominations to the 2024 Individual Event All-State Festival. The Festival was held Monday, March 25 at the University of Northern Iowa. The Dubuque Senior varsity team earned the Iowa High School Speech Association Individual Event Sweepstakes Trophy, given to the school with the most nominations to the Festival. This marks the twelfth consecutive year the Dubuque Senior Speech Team has won the Individual Events Sweepstakes Trophy.

The Dubuque Senior Speech team is only the second team in IHSSA history to win both the Large Group and IE Sweepstakes Trophy in the same year, and the only school to do it more than once (six times – 2024, 2023, 2019, 2018, 2016 and 2013). The group is coached by Hannah Burke, Aaron Dean, Greg Ernzen, Mike Grant, Maria LoBianco, Megan Schumacher, Matt Tompkins and MaryJo Williams.

The Festival is sponsored by the Iowa High School Speech Association, which is an affiliate of the Iowa High School Girls Athletic Union.

Congratulations to the following students on their achievements:

Dubuque Senior High School

  • Kelsey Ahlers – Expository Address
  • Riley Beck – Solo Musical Theatre
  • Peter Boenish – Prose & Review
  • Delaney Carber – Storytelling
  • Sam Cavanagh – Radio News Announcing
  • Alex Dixon – Acting & After Dinner Speaking
  • Peyton Dixon – Storytelling
  • Liam Dostal – Solo Musical Theatre
  • Anna Garret-Douillet – Public Address
  • Jace Holz – Review
  • Norah Homb – Storytelling
  • Leah Klapatauskas – Spontaneous Speaking
  • Chase Kreimeyer – After Dinner Speaking & Improvisational Acting
  • Maura Lawler – Expository Address
  • Kaitlyn Miller – Expository Address
  • Soren Obermueller – After Dinner Speaking & Prose
  • Madeline Oney – Poetry
  • Reid Postma – Improvisational Acting
  • Jack Rothert – After Dinner Speaking
  • Jacob Schreiber – Review
  • Sophia Thomas – Poetry
  • Bella VandenBerge – Acting

State Division I (Excellent) Rated Recognition:

Dubuque Senior High School

  • Ami Bellings – Solo Musical Theatre
  • Peyton Dixon – Original Oratory
  • Ella Donovan – Literary Program
  • Roz Hoefflin – Literary Program
  • Blair Kapp – After Dinner Speaking
  • Avery Kane – Acting
  • Natalee Killian – Prose
  • Akiko Kono – Original Oratory
  • Liam Kroger – Radio News Announcing
  • Ella Meyer – Spontaneous Speaking
  • Jameson Norton – Literary Program & Radio News Announcing
  • Josie Norton – Poetry
  • Izzibelle Pregler – Acting
  • Kate Putnam – Poetry
  • Maddie Rupp – Improvisational Acting
  • Benjamin Schaefer – Spontaneous Speaking
  • Charlotte Toskey – Public Address
  • Morgan Weiland – Improvisational Acting
  • David Witthoeft – Improvisational Acting

Hempstead High School

  • Bruce Coakley – Spontaneous Speaking
  • Hannah Davisdon – After Dinner Speaking
  • Maggie Morrow – Interpretive Reading Prose
  • Norah Morteo – Interpretive Reading  Poetry
  • Aadi Patel – Spontaneous Speaking
  • Brendon Zheng – Spontaneous Speaking and Expository Address