MHS duo are both speech newcomers

Marshalltown High School junior Nyajal Wechtour and sophomore Nyemade Harmon both got involved in speech for the first time this year, and both have seen their hard work pay off with All-State honors. Harmon qualified in two categories — original oratory and public address — while Wechtour also qualified for original oratory.

“They don’t have many people in speech, so they advertise it every year. And when I was a freshman, they came in, they advertised it, and I was like ‘This seems like something I would really like to do.’ I’m not very good at speaking. I get nervous — well, actually, apparently I am good,” Harmon said. “But I was not expecting (the all-state honor) because I get really nervous. I start shaking, but it’s like something turns on when I’m up there.”

Wechtour had taken an interest in drama and acting before she heard about speech and decided to give it a shot. Her original oratory piece is about the power of empathy, while Harmon’s focuses on her disagreement with the idea that turning 18 makes one an adult.

Marshalltown High School junior Nyajal Wechtour, left, will perform her original oratory piece during the Individual All-State Speech Festival at UNI on Monday, while sophomore Nyemade Harmon, right, will perform in two categories, original oratory and public address. The two are pictured holding last year’s all-state banner.

“It just doesn’t make sense to me, so I really wanted to talk about that,” she said. “Your brain is not fully developed at that age. Even at 25, it continues to grow even beyond that, and they don’t even trust 18-year-olds to handle cars. You can’t rent a car, and you can’t drink alcohol. So why would you be an adult?”

Harmon, who is originally from Connecticut and dreams of attending an Ivy League university, added that the Supreme Court is taking adolescent brain science and research about it into account, which is why those under 18 typically get more leeway in the justice system.

“I would really like if they raised the age of adulthood, but I wanted to be more realistic in the speech. I know it’s not gonna happen overnight, but just treat 18-year-olds and fresh adults with some grace because they’re new. I just wish they didn’t throw them into this world but kind of eased them into it,” she said.

Harmon’s public address is a recitation of Sojourner Truth’s famous speech “Ain’t I a Woman?” Wechtour’s piece highlighted a simple message: empathy begins with us, and individuals must understand and love themselves before they can help others.

“Once you know how to love yourself, you know your emotions and stuff, you’re able to continue that to others, and it just kind of spreads,” she said.

South Tama County senior Maddix Sanache was nominated for the Individual All-State Speech Festival with his prose piece “Death by Scrabble,” originally written by Charlie Fish.

MHS Speech Coach Ryan Boley, who is in his second year here after eight years at Baxter, was impressed with the work both Harmon and Wechtour put into their entries.

“You hit the jackpot when you get kids who are passionate about speech. As a coach, you don’t have to do much. You just kind of say ‘Oh yeah. I like this (or) I don’t like this’ and just let them go,” he said. “The hours that they put in working on this (are impressive), which most speech kids understand that’s what it takes to get to All-State.”

As Wechtour put it, coming in with a strong knowledge of the subject and a real interest in it are paramount — otherwise, it’s just words on paper. She’s excited to check out the UNI campus and watch other All-Staters perform on Monday.

“That’s one of the main things I like about speech. You get to hear other people’s voices and what they have to say about things, and one thing I’ve taken away from this is (that) I have a voice, and that’s one thing I really like about speech. You can talk about whatever you want (and) just express yourself through your words,” Wechtour said.

And for Harmon, reaching All-State in two categories is especially fulfilling after an ensemble acting piece she performed in large group — which she thought was her best — fell short and didn’t get the feedback she had been expecting.

“Honestly, just keep going. Don’t listen to negative thoughts because I wouldn’t have done this if I had listened to what I wanted to do, which is stay in my bed,” she said. “It was kind of disheartening. I was like ‘You know what? I’m not gonna do individual. I want to sleep. I’m tired. I have school stuff going on,’ but I didn’t listen to that. I was like ‘You know what? Go all in. You never know what’s gonna happen,’ and I’m happy I did. I’m so proud of myself that I kept going because it gets really hard sometimes when you’re dealing with everything on top of these extracurriculars. I’m just really excited to present and make an impact on people because that’s what speech is all about.”

East Marshall’s Savannah Cahalan takes literary program to All-State

It’s one of the most common questions adults and families grapple with on a daily basis — what’s for dinner tonight? That eternal conundrum is also the basis for East Marshall senior Savannah Cahalan’s All-State literary program, which includes prose and storytelling pieces she performs together under a unified theme.

“It was lighthearted, just trying to go through the struggles of trying to figure out what’s for dinner,” she said.

East Marshall Speech Coach Jodi Ash said Cahalan has typically gravitated toward more serious topics in the past, but she decided to shift gears and do something different. From there, Ash found prose pieces and poems and even wrote a poem herself that Cahalan ended up using at state, which is the precursor to All-State.

“I think serious is harder to connect with people than lightheartedness, because when you’re lighthearted, you can be more dramatic, and that sticks in people’s minds more,” Cahalan said.

Judges appreciated the relatability of the topic and the frustrations most people face in dealing with it every day for the rest of their lives, and they loved Cahalan’s energy and enthusiasm. The senior is headed to Indian Hills Community College to study radiology in the fall, but she also plans to participate in drama at the next level.

Cahalan appreciates the lessons she has learned from speech, especially the ability to connect with people. She is the first East Marshall individual All-State qualifier since 2020.

“It feels good. I will say, (and) I always feel this way. Things like All-State are the decorations on the cake. The actual thing that we’re building is confidence in the students, their ability to speak in front of people (and) relationships,” Ash said. “That’s the cake. This is the decoration.”

STC’s Maddix Sanache qualifies in prose category

South Tama County senior Maddix Sanache started participating in speech during his junior year upon the recommendation of the former musical director, getting involved in both individual and large group. This year, he chose the prose category because it allowed him to show off his comedic side while also having a script as an aid, citing his struggles with memorization.

“But I also did want to do something funny. I really do like comedy,” he said.

Sanache’s piece is titled “Death by Scrabble” by Charlie Fish and involves a man and his wife playing the popular board game as “strange and crazy” events unfold around them — the words start to come true. Coach Ellen Moran said he isn’t the first STC student to perform the piece for speech contest, and she felt it was a great fit for him.

“He worked extremely hard. He attended practices multiple times a week, took notes and did well with instruction. He truly deserves this honor that he has worked on for two months,” Moran said.

The judges enjoyed his expressions, his pauses, his introductions and his volume, and Sanache, who is undecided about his plans for next year at the moment, felt that participating in speech has helped him to express himself, bring out his vocal skills and hone his acting, which he intends to pursue wherever he ends up after graduation.

“It helped me just spread my emotional range, and it really helped me a lot because it got me more into different stuff,” he said.

A full performance schedule with information about all four area qualifiers is available at the following link: https://www.ihssa.org/UserDocs/pages/final_all_state_ie_schedule_2025.pdf.