Three students competed at the local Poetry Out Loud competition on Jan. 11. Senior Elizabeth Emerson claimed first place, and will thus advance to the district competition on Feb. 5 in Quinter.

Students memorized two poems to recite in front of a panel of judges for a shot at a $20,000 scholarship.

English Instructor Kathy Wagoner was in charge of the competition and helped judge the performances along with Dr. Lexey Bartlett, an English Professor at Fort Hays State University, the alumni associate program coordinator for FHSU, Karl Pratt and local librarian Scott Rader. English Instructor Melanie Folkerts was the prompter and accuracy judge for the competition.

This competition takes place every year in January. Students who participated encourage others to get involved.

“The only people who competed this year were seniors,” senior Brianna Mathias said. “It’s a really awesome experience. I certainly hope more people try out. I don’t want this amazing competition to disappear with me and Elizabeth.”