“I was in my speech mode,” stated state champion Aidan Beckman.

Aidan Beckman, a sophomore,  recently won the state championship in the Great Speeches category.  He is the first student from Cotter to accomplish this feat in a long time.

Aidan though, was more surprised that he had won than everyone else.  “I was in disbelief. Most of the people I went up against had placed at state in previous years, and this was my first time. I was really more shocked than excited,” said Beckman.

In order to win the championship, Aidan had to rank in the top 8 overall after the first 3 rounds.  Aidan scored a one in two of the prelim rounds, and a four in the others.  These are merely rankings on how the judge feels that the speaker performed against his opponents.

Beckman ranked in the top 8 and moved onto the final 3 rounds.

Beckman shined in the final 3 roundsl, as he placed 2nd, 3rd, and 2nd, clinching the state championship.

“I was not expecting to get to finals, let alone win, but I did what I always do: give my speech to the best of my ability,” exclaimed Beckman, “Even though I won, it does not mean that it’s time for me to give up. I am very excited for the next two years because I will have more experience which will allow me to be stronger than ever.”

Even though Beckman was the only Cotter student to win, the other four participants–Gabe Tullis, Hunter Ramsden, Noah French, and Henry Reilly– competed well and represented Cotter in a positive fashion.

Coaches Deb Beckman and Amy French are already looking on into the bright future of this blooming program.

“The 2016 season started last Sunday,” stated French, “Our goal is to be the top team in our section if not in 2016, then 2017 – and that would mean we have to beat Cannon Falls.  With the wonderfully talented students at Cotter – I know we can accomplish this!”

Coach Beckman agrees, “Coach French and I have learned so much about the inner workings of this program.  We feel we have more direction heading into next year.  We’ve already starting making plans on how to approach the next season.  We would love to take more kids to state next year.  Hopefully we can.”

In retrospect, the speech season was one of the most successful seasons a Cotter program has had in the last few years.  Bringing home a conference championship, taking second at sections, and a state champion speaker, and helping students become more confident speakers are hallmarks of the programs increasing success.  The expectations and future are bright for this young group, and hopefully, more success will follow next season begins.