Submitted Photo Rugby High School speech team members competing in the Region IV Speech Tournament were, from back row left, Katelyn Duchscher, Annie Risovi, Kason Connot, Caitlynn Towe, Lauren Westphal, Maddie Hurly, and Amber Selensky. From the front row, left are Katherine Arnold, Haylee Heilman, Heidi Voeller, Ryli Kuhnhenn, and Haley Mayer.

Six Rugby High School speech team members earned tickets to state with their performances at the Region IV Speech Tournament, held at Rolette High School on April 9.

Rugby’s Katelyn Ducscher’s first place scores in the dramatic and storytelling categories of the contest earned her two spots at state. Amber Selensky also scored in first place in two categories, earning state berths in the impromptu and humorous categories.

Another student, Caitlyn Towe, earned two berths at state, qualifying with second-place scores for extemporaneous programmed reading and serious reading. Angeline Risovi also qualified for two categories, earning second place with performances in poetry and impromptu speaking.

Rounding out the list of state qualifiers were Kason Connot, who took second place in humorous speech, and Haley Mayer, who took second place for extemporaneous speaking.

Rugby High Speech Coach Dana Thoreson said five Rugby students had qualified for state before regionals based on performances throughout their season.

“Speech is up and down with participants and we’re working on building our team back up,” she said of the program.

“Rugby has some great talent,” she added. “We have a lot of dedicated kids and we’ve gotten a lot of awards as well.”

Duchscher, Selensky, and Risovi are among a group of Rugby High students who also involve themselves in theater through Rugby’s Village Arts.

Risovi and Selensky said acting in Village Arts theatrical productions helps them with their performances on the speech team.

“Acting and speech run hand in hand,” Risovi said after a practice before she traveled to regionals. “(Acting) helps me speak during this event, but during events like poetry and dramatic speaking, which I didn’t qualify for, it helps you get into character for events like that.”

Selensky said, “I think they play off each other a lot because I’ve pretty much been in Village Arts since I’ve been in speech, which was when I got into junior high. Speech, first of all, really got me involved in Village Arts, but as I grow through both of them, they help me with my acting and furthering my career as an actress.”

Selensky said she aspires to become a professional actress someday.

“I think that would be awesome,” she said, adding she planned to attend North Dakota State University in Fargo next year to major in communications and minor in theater.

Rugby’s six qualifiers travel to Mandan on April 23 for the state competition.