Cotter’s speech team is gearing up for looks to be another successful season that will begin in January.

Participants have begun practicing ahead of time and doing prep work. According to Ms. Shriver, one of the five coaches, there are more than 80 students competing this year.

The other coaches besides Ms. Shriver are Amy French, Bob French, Tyler Larkin, and Deb Beckman.

Ms.Shriver says that she is very confident this year.

The team won the Three Rivers Conference championship for the third year in a row, sent 9 people to State, and had many other first-place wins throughout the season.

Key returning speakers this year include Grace Miller, Choco Li, Hannah Graff, Sam Wontock, Tyler Nachtigal, Hunter Ramsden, and Aubrey Williams.

“Some of our goals are to beat Cannon Falls, continue as Conference Champs, and to keep recruiting members.,” Shriver said.

Cannon Falls has one of the strongest programs in this area and provides a challenge for the team competition.

Five speech team members also  traveled to Glenview, Illinois, this fall to partake in a national event.