Marshall High School speech team members got together for warm-up exercises before competition at Saturday's Speech Spectacular. A total of 17 speech teams from around southwest Minnesota competed at the tournament.

MARSHALL — Students started arriving at Marshall High School early Saturday morning dressed up in suits. As the time for competition got nearer, students from across southwest Minnesota were doing vocal warm-ups and running through their lines.

It was all a part of getting ready for speech. On Saturday, around 17 different area speech teams took part in the annual Marshall Speech Spectacular. For competitors, the day was a mix of anxiety and excitement.

“It’s been nice. Just the main thing is getting to represent your school,” said Foster Moore, one of the Marshall High School Tiger Speech Team captains. Moore said he would be taking pride in joining some of his teammates help to present awards at the end of the day.

First-place speakers in individual events included students from area high schools including Marshall, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton, Community Christian School, Luverne, Windom Area High School, Westbrook Walnut Grove and Red Rock Central, Springfield and Sleepy Eye.

In the team sweepstakes, the Luverne speech team placed third, the River Valley (Springfield and Sleepy Eye) speech team placed second, and the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton speech team placed first.

Marshall students were excited for their home tournament.

“Their energy level is through the roof,” said Marshall head speech coach Donna VanKeulen. “They also know they need to work extra hard, because this is their home tournament.”

Part of the fun of the Spectacular was getting to see a different mix of competitors, VanKeulen said. It was also a chance for friends and family to see MHS students compete without having to travel far.

Over the course of the day, students competed in both public speaking events and in interpretive events, where speakers present a piece of prose, drama, humor or poetry. Moore said one of the events he tried was impromptu speaking, where competitors are given a very limited amount of time to prepare a speech on a random topic. “I think I’m going to stay in it,” he said of the category.

One of the big moments of excitement came as banners were unfurled with the names of speakers who were advancing to the final rounds of competition.

“When they do the banners, it’s always a stressful moment,” said RTR speaker Alyssa Harper.

But even though it can be stressful, the positive parts of being in speech make up for it, students said. MHS speakers Aleyah Klogo and Suzie Holland said the community was one of the best parts of speech.

“It’s definitely meeting new people, and creating new bonds with them,” Klogo said.

Harper said being in speech also helps students develop important skills for their futures, along with self-confidence.

“The younger kids, you get to see them grow and come out of their shell,” she said.

VanKeulen said the Speech Spectacular wouldn’t happen without the support of sponsors like the Carr Foundation, tournament organizers, and speech team families and boosters who provided hospitality for visiting teams. She said she wanted to thank all of them.