Derrick Jackson and Logan Wells are going to State for Persuasive Extemp. At Regionals, Logan placed second and Derrick placed third. They have been preparing for this event all year and are now on the road to winning state. Logan and Derrick are very committed to giving it their all at the competition. Both are very excited to be competing at the state level. 

“I absolutely did not think I was going to make it to state, especially after what happened the day before with LD. I was nervous and my confidence was shattered but we still got the job done,” Logan said. 

Even though they were both nervous, Logan and Derrick got the job done. They both were ecstatic about the results. 

“I was absolutely over the moon, I didn’t think it would happen and when it did, I almost squealed, it was ridiculous,” Logan said. 

Derrick felt similarly.

“There were a lot of emotions running through my bones and body, I was like thinking it was a dream. It was amazing,” Derrick said.  

Wells and Jackson have been taking steps to prepare themselves for the competition they must face at a State level and they are taking this competition very seriously. 

“So to prepare, since we cant use online sources in-round, what we do is we take time and we file dozens of articles per day to our drive that way we can check them out, we are constantly reading the news, constantly giving speeches just to make sure we are up to date and always prepared. “ Wells said. 

In debate, no one ever knows what is going to happen next, but everyone always has to stay humble. Don’t ever be too cocky; it can cost contestants the whole competition. They both have given time and effort to be where they are today and are hoping to both break to finals at state.

”Well, especially in something like debate, it is important to be confident but also humble so I hope I make it to state finals and I think I’ve got a shot, but like you can’t ever go in thinking or saying you are going to do something or else you get over confident and a little bit too cocky, but your mindset is the ultimate weapon,” Wells said.