Ashley Watkins, Kayla Vonk, David Hall earn Novice awards
THE MOUNTAIN LAKE Public High School (MLHS) Speech Team, led by Coach Alisa Nickel, opened their season at the Mankato East High School Fiesta Speech Invitational on Saturday, February 21. The team had four competitors, three participating in Novice and one in Varsity. In Novice, Ashley Watkins, above right, earned a first-place trophy in Creative Expression, while Kayla Vonk, above left, was awarded a second-place ribbon in Informative, and David Hall, above center, performed to a sixth-place ribbon in Poetry. Amy Bartsch competed in Humorous at the Varisity level, but did not place. There were 22 schools represented at the competition, including Shakopee, Irondale, Fairmont, Hutchinson, Mankato, New Ulm, Martin County West, Jackson County Central, St. Peter, as well as other schools in addition to MLHS. More than 200 contestants participated. Upcoming meets are Thursday in Jordan and Saturday at Martin County West Public High School in Sherburn. (Alisa Nickel photo)