Cotter Speech Team Showcases Talent

The Cotter Speech Team once again thriving in the 2025 season! We are fortunate to have all five of our returning coaches—Amy French, Robert French, Emily Mork, Teresa Schaefer, and Sam Wantock—along with our newest addition, Coach Nora Huber, who is leading our 5th and 6th grade Middle School team.

Despite graduating 12 talented speakers from the Class of 2024, our team has grown with the addition of 11 energetic 7th graders from the Class of 2030 who have joined our varsity squad. We also welcomed seven new high school speakers, bringing our total to an impressive 50 team members!

Leading our team are three outstanding senior captains: Lily Corcoran, Erica Beckman, and Kayleigh Taylor. They are supported by captains Jackson Loomis, Lily Doud, Lilly Hansen, Nathan Kiehne, and Elliot Schneider. These dedicated leaders mentor our younger (5th and 6th grade) speakers, organize our three team-night dinners, warm up speakers at meets, and run captain-led practices to coach their teammates. Their leadership is invaluable to the success of our team.

A Season of Success

This year, the Cotter Speech Team has achieved remarkable success, winning five tournaments against both similarly sized schools and larger Double A schools such as Rochester JM, Rochester Mayo, Owatonna, and Northfield. Additionally, we secured a 2nd place finish at a meet despite having fewer than half the entries of other teams, and we placed 4th in the limited-entry Rosemount tournament.

As coaches, we value every speaker who joins our team. While winning is exciting, our true measure of success is growth—both in communication skills and personal development. We are proud to see our students flourish, not only as speakers but as supportive teammates who encourage one another and competitors from other schools.

That said, our speakers have certainly been making their mark in competitions! So far, they have earned 148 individual ribbons and medals—with seven meets still remaining, including the state tournament. We have had 31 individual event champions, and several students have excelled in multiple categories, making finals in more than one event, including Erica Beckman, Lily Doud, Jackson Loomis, Kayleigh Taylor, Lily Hansen, LeYan Thean, Madeline Modjeski, Gracey Bauer, and Shawn Freyre.

Our novice speakers have also seen great success, breaking into finals or earning novice awards both locally and in the Twin Cities. Notable achievements come from 7th graders Cici Cole, Tiffany Brommerich, Clara King, Joshua Stevenson, Marko Stjepnaovic, Rozella Taylor, and Izzy Heckman, as well as high schoolers Adrianna Jones, Ray Kim, Gracey Bauer, and Kaleb Kraker.

Competing on the National Stage

In addition to the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) season, Cotter’s 9th-12th grade speakers have the opportunity to compete on the national circuit. This fall, our Nationals Team traveled to tournaments in Illinois and Iowa, earning bids for prestigious national competitions.

Cotter is a proud member of the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA), and thanks to the Speech Boosters, both individual and school memberships are fully covered, providing valuable resources to our speakers at no cost to their families. This year, the NSDA once again recognized Cotter Speech with membership in the 100 Club, highlighting our strength at the national level.

Our students earn points toward NSDA degrees, which can qualify them for awards such as honor cords for graduation and the prestigious Academic All-American title—an honor achieved by only 2% of speakers nationwide. This year, Erica Beckman and Jackson Loomis are eligible for this award.

NSDA Nationals

The NSDA National Tournament—considered the "Super Bowl" of speech—takes place in June in Iowa, with qualification requiring a top-three finish at the district tournament in March. Last year, River Repinski ('24) and Kayleigh Taylor became the first Cotter speakers to qualify.

This year, seven Cotter speakers competed in seven events at the National Qualifier, held at Anoka and Eagan High Schools:

• Erica Beckman – Dramatic Interpretation & Original Oratory
• Lily Doud – Original Oratory & Program Oral Interpretation
• Shawn Freyre & William Kirk – Duo Interpretation
• Kayleigh Taylor – Dramatic Interpretation
• Adrianna Jones – Dramatic Interpretation

Four of these events advanced to the semifinals (top 12), a remarkable achievement at this highly competitive tournament. Kayleigh (Dramatic Interpretation) and Erica (Original Oratory) went on to the final round (top 6), both placing 6th—just missing a national bid.

NIETOC Nationals

The National Individual Event Tournament of Champions (NIETOC) will take place in May in Kansas City, Missouri. To qualify, speakers must earn two bids from national qualifying tournaments. So far, Cotter has secured:

• Kayleigh Taylor – Dramatic Interpretation
• William Kirk & Shawn Freyre – Duo Interpretation
• Erica Beckman – Original Oratory
• Lily Doud – One of two needed bids in Program Oral Interpretation
• Carter Knuesel – One of two needed bids in Informative

Several more opportunities remain for additional speakers to qualify.

Middle School Team

This year, our Middle School team includes 10 talented 5th and 6th grade speakers, guided by our incredible new coach, Nora Huber. Because there are few middle school tournaments in our area—except the one we host—these students compete at varsity tournaments. Despite this challenge, they have earned nine awards, with 6th grader Walker Woodworth standing out by placing 2nd overall at two varsity meets! He also earned a NIETOC nationals bid, though he is unfortunately too young to accept it.

Upcoming Events

The Cotter Speech Team is excited to host its home tournament on March 22. Anyone interested in learning more about speech is welcome to attend! Rounds begin at 9:00 AM, with finals around 2:30 PM.

We also have our final team night on Wednesday, March 19. Join us for dinner and an evening of incredible speeches—you’ll be out in time for the band’s report time!

Thank You

The entire Cotter Speech Team is deeply grateful for the support we receive from our school community. Special thanks to Mary Eileen Fitch and Dave Forney for their invaluable guidance, Anna Koopman for ensuring we have practice and tournament space, and Mark Pozanc and the Cotter Transportation Team, Lori Ortega, Mathias O’Brien, and the entire Activities Department for their continuous support.

We are proud to represent Cotter and will continue working hard, learning, and growing as a team. Thank you for being part of our journey!