Four Wayland High School forensics students, coached by Andrea Brown, finished second in their division in combined scores May 17-19 at the annual Michigan Speech Coaches Incorporated (MSCI) State Spring Conference at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.

Competing in  Duo Poetry, senior and team captain Camber Barko partnered with junior Ashlee Kidder and brought in a third place trophy. Junior Jamie Murray and sophomore Eli Merren also competed in Duo Poetry and secured a sixth place trophy.

The Wayland group competed with close to 500 students from around the state representing 35 different schools.

Forensics is the art of competitive speaking and acting. Students can compete in a multitude of different categories including but not limited to; Duo Poetry (a creative combination of poetry performed equally by each actor), After Dinner Speaking (an original speech using humor to entertain and persuade).

Brown said she is very proud of all the students’ hard work and effort they put into making their performances fabulous.

“They truly are an amazingly talented group of students willing to put their time, energy and emotion into their performances,” she said. “It was a pleasure and an honor to work with them on their pieces, and a sheer joy to watch them accept their trophies at the award ceremony Saturday night. They deserve a big round of applause!”

The coach added that she hopes the forensics team grows from the experience and welcomes new students to join in the fall.