Lincoln County students swept awards at this year’s American Farmers and Ranchers (AFR) Central District Speech Contest last week.
In the Junior Division, four students placed in the Agriscience category. Kyan Herrman from Agra placed first, Parker Brockman from Wellston placed third, Annabell McCurley from Chandler placed fourth and Connor Imhoff from Prague placed fifth.
In the Intermediate Division, Brynlee Price from Stroud placed third in the Ag Policy category.
In the Senior Division, many students placed. In the Animal Science category, Devyn Frazier from Meeker placed first and Noah Merrill from Davenport placed fifth. In Agriscience, Katie Wright from Chandler placed fifth.
In Ag Policy, Baylee Weeks from Meeker placed first, Ava White from Chandler placed third and Hope Birdwell from Prague placed fifth. In Natural Resources, Kaydence Staude from Meeker placed second and in Extemporaneous, Kaden James from Wellston placed second.
The top two in every category will advance to the state competition on Dec. 6.
“Public speaking is one of the most valuable skills young people can gain for their future careers,” said AFR Cooperative President Scott Blubaugh. “We are honored to host the 80th Annual AFR Speech Contest, which has a long-standing tradition of fostering professionalism and confidence in Oklahoma’s youth.”
Almost 500 students will compete in the district speech competitions across the state, and more than 160 of those will advance to state at Oklahoma State University.