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A poignant story about two brothers - Aaron and Frankie - and the fine line between reality and fantasy, landed Summerland speech team members Kyra Nilson and Emily Nordby on the medal stand at Friday's Nebraska School Activities Assocation Class C2 State Speech Championship.

Coach Julie Harley said she is proud of the efforts of the Bobcat team.

"I congratulate Emily and Kyra upon being Summerland's first state medal winners."

Overall, the Bobcats finished 16th in the event held at Horizon Middle School in Kearney.

Nilson and Nordby's interpretation of The Crayon Map, by Oliver Leslie and Christopher Marianetti, earned second place in both preliminary round rankings, sending the senior and sophomore speakers to the final round in the duet acting category. Both judges rated preliminary competition as superior.

The duo presented the final performance to a panel of three judges and earned three superior ratings, with rankings of three, three and four.

Nordby said competition was steep.

"I think Kyra and I performed to the best of our ability," she said.

In Nilson's opinion, the duet kept improving each round at state.

"I learned that all it takes is making sure you practice and put your all into every performance."

Nilson called the state meet an "amazing experience."

"It was nice to be able to see duets that we haven't seen all year so we had different competition.

Adrienne Parker competed in persuasive speaking and finished preliminary rounds in 14th place. Parker received two superior ratings and earned ranks of three and six.

"I was honored to be a part of the state qualifiers. It was a really incredible opportunity."Her persuasive speech shared the plight of wild animals - specifically orcas, elephants and apes - kept in captivity in small areas, including zoos and aquariums.

Parker said competition was tough,with many talented students competing.

Despite not making finals, she felt confident about her presentation.

"My performances were the best I've ever done my speech, especially my second round. I also got a little emotional at the end of that speech, as I knew that could have been the last time I ever performed it," she said.

One difference evident throughout the competition was the location of the tournament.

Typically, the University of Nebraska-Kearney hosts the state final.

Due to COVID concerns, Class C2 competed at Horizon Middle School.

Classes B and C1 competed at Kearney High School, Thursday, while classes D1 and D2 performed there Friday.

Harley noted having state speech in a middle school was a different experience.

"It felt more like a regular speech meet with stiffer competition," she said. "Horizon Middle School and Kearney High workers did a great job in setting up and organizing the layout of the Horizon Middle School facility.

Nordby said even though it didn't feel like state speech, "I'm glad we were able to have it in person."

The one drawback was the lack of fanfare during the awards ceremony.

At UNK, students who break finals receive medals in front of a crowded gymnasium and take their place on the medal stand.

This year, students stood behind a number used to identify track lanes and the crowd was much smaller as each competitor and coach received two tickets for spectators.

"After last year, I am not complaining about that and I doubt anyone else is either," Harley said.