by Kinsey Phipps
After District Speech on Feb. 28, PCM put seven students through to State with only five participating; one came out on top. Sophomore Graham Davis was that one student.
In order to advance on to State, students must get a score of one in your category. To be accepted to All-State, performers must get a one score from all three of the judges in your center. If there are multiple people with straight ones, the judges must proceed to pick the top performer in that specified center. Davis was accepted into All-State through one of the few musical theatre centers. Davis sang “Magic Foot” which appeared in PCM’s fall musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Five students competed at State Speech on March 14 in Cedar Rapids: Senior Rachel Peter went through for musical theatre, as did junior Karina Van Dyke. Junior Clay Cooper went for after-dinner speaking, and sophomore Mallery Downey went for poetry. Due to the spring break mission trip leaving on March 13, senior Rachel Freland and freshman Sidney Metzger were unable to compete at State Speech; Freland was sent through for poetry, and individual improvisation was Metzger’s category. Though Davis was the only one to make it through, all participants did exceedingly well.
“The outcome of making it to All-State was a surprise because I never felt 110-percent with my piece like I should’ve been, but it’s a great feeling to know the judges still found my performance to be the best in my center. It’s a really big honor, and I’m ecstatic to be one of the few students from PCM in the past years to make it through,” Davis said.
In the four years that Ms. Sam Pohl has been the high school speech coach, two students other than Davis have been accepted into All-State. In 2013, Peter received the honor as a sophomore for musical theatre, along with senior (at that time) Callie Rouse for acting.
“The fact that [Davis] is willing to completely take on a character and take risks on stage is a really great quality,” Pohl said, “especially for someone as young as Graham.”
Davis competed in All-State at the University of Northern Iowa on March 30.
