New Hampton advances three in large-group speech

New Hampton High School large-group speech coach Kassie Bercik understands that some of her students wanted “more” at the district contest last week, but she wants all of her students to know that they made her proud.“Everyone wants a [Divison] I [rating], and I get that,” Bercik said, “but they put a lot of time and effort into this and I don’t want them to be disappointed. Our new kids learned a lot, and I loved their enthusiasm. The best thing is the ones that aren’t going on were already talking about how they’re going to get better next year, and that’s exciting.”Three groups earned Division I ratings as the Throndson brothers — Elliot and Will — advanced to this Saturday’s state contest in ensemble act- ing and joined Cody Deere and Autumn Goebel on a Division I group improvisation team. Emma Glaser and Caitlin Houdek also earned a Division I rating in group mime.The Division I ratings will now prepare for Saturday’s state contest that will be held at Waterloo West High School.— For more on this story, see the Jan. 29 New Hampton Tribune.