Perham speech team earns five top-10 finishes at state meet

Five top-10 finishes at the Minnesota State High School League speech tournament gave Perham High School a clear proof point that its program can produce elite results from a small community. The Yellowjackets came home from Park Center High School in Brooklyn Park with a 16th-place team finish in Class A, and seven students were on the state stage for a run that marked one of the program’s strongest seasons in recent memory.

The state meet capped a spring in which Perham kept climbing. The Yellowjackets won the Subsection 6A title at home on March 26, then finished runner-up in Section 6A on April 11 to qualify six students for state. Head Coach Kasey Wacker was named Section 6A Coach of the Year, adding another sign that the season’s success was built across the program, not just in one event or one round.

Perham’s state qualifiers were Clodarl Seeman, Faith Kalina, Tessa Starzl, Oliver Ollmann, Drew Moser, Lilliana Shippee and Amelie Deisz. According to the school district, five of those Yellowjackets placed in the top 10 at state, a breadth of success that matters in speech, where competitors are judged individually across a wide range of interpretation and public speaking events. For a school the size of Perham, that kind of depth is a bigger statement than a single breakout performance.

The statewide backdrop made the Yellowjackets’ finish stand out all the more. Melrose won the 2026 Class A team title with 68 points, while Mounds Park Academy finished second with 59. Against that field, Perham’s 16th-place result showed the Yellowjackets holding their own among the state’s strongest programs while turning multiple entries into finalist-level performances.

For Perham, the season also carried local momentum. The district’s own activities report called the section runner-up finish the second straight regional runner-up showing and described it as a historic milestone for the program. With a subsection title, a section coach of the year honor and five top-10 state finishes, the Yellowjackets left Brooklyn Park with more than medals. They left with a season that strengthened Perham’s reputation for developing confident speakers who can compete with the best in Minnesota.