Early Saturdays are coming to a end for the York’s Speech Team as they prepare to send their best to state and wrap up their season.

Shortly after dawn on Sat. Feb. 18, students representing the nine advancing regional events got on the bus to Downers Grove South, ready to put forward their best performances of the season. This competition featured the top competitors from all schools  as they vied for state qualification.

To qualify for regionals, representatives from every event competed at sectionals. At the end of the invitational season, each coach chooses the best competitors from each event to represent their team.  

Competitors have been vying for their places since the beginning of the invitational season, each coach sending the best of the best to Elk Grove High School to compete on a regional stage.

Out of the twelve events sent, nine advanced into sectionals. These competitors include:

• PIR (Shamus McFarland, Julia Riddle, Will Corrado, Emily Landreth, Naomi Olson, Ellie Ryan): 1st in PIR
• Jack Wiesenmayer: 1st in Impromptu Speaking
• Kelley Fowler: 2nd in Prose Reading
• Max Craig: 2nd in Radio Speaking
• Julia Doherty: 3rd in Oratorical Declamation
• Camille Butler: 3rd in Special Occasion Speaking
• Tom Ducey: 4th in Extemporaneous Speaking
• Morgan Taylor and Tatum Langley: 4th in Humorous Duet Acting
• David Hansen: 4th in Original Comedy

One student from York, senior Max Craig, placed second in radio speaking, and will represent York at state.

The team celebrated his success and wishes him well this weekend in Peoria.

Craig is grateful for this opportunity and for the support he’s received from his teammates, who a share a camaraderie that, for Craig, is what makes speech team so special.

“I just like the people there,” Max Craig, senior, said. “It’s really weird. It should be terrible, but I like it.”

Beginning a day at 6:30 a.m. and staying at foreign high schools for more than ten hours may sound “terrible,” but the York Speech Team embraces it.

This sense of camaraderie that Craig alluded to was also displayed in various emails and letters exchanged by teammates thanking one another for the memorable season, during which the team showed fierce determination, respect and good sportsmanship at every tournament they compete at.

While the speech team may be wrapping up their competitions, they remember their success, their friendships, and a great season.