Ankeny High School Speech Team Captures First 'Critics’ Choice' Award at State Competition

From an Ankeny school district media release:

"War in Love", a short film by Andrew Richlen, Anna Vozdrogonova, Kaitlin Peterson, Shelby Vroman, Austin Elder, Matthew Stewart, Maddie Noble, Cassie Sardeson, and Bryce Smith, recently won the Iowa High School Speech Association Large Group Speech All-State Critics' Choice award at the All-State festival on February 16.  

This is the first year that Short Film has been a full category at the festival, and this was the first Critics' Choice banner to be awarded in this category. The Critic's Choice award is given to the performer that, in the mind of the judges, was the "best of the best", and is akin to winning an individual state championship. 

This marks only the third time Ankeny has won a Critic's Choice award.

“We’re very proud of the Short Film speech group and also of their coach, Mr. Cary Shapiro,” said AHS Principal Jeff Hawkins. “These students put a lot of hard work and dedication into perfecting this project, and their efforts were rewarded by the judges. I want to congratulate them on behalf of Ankeny High School on a job well done.”

"War in Love" tells the story of two happy couples before World War II began, Sam and Mary, and Elizabeth and James. But then the war begins, along with the draft, and Sam and James are drafted into the army. Once Sam and James left, Mary discovered that she is pregnant. The couples write back and forth for a few months, but then Sam is killed in combat. James returns home to tell Mary that Sam has been killed, and the shock causes her to go into labor.  Mary dies in childbirth, but before she passes away, Elizabeth and James promise to look after her son. As James and Elizabeth say their final good-byes at Mary’s grave, they hold her son and promise to raise him like one of their own.