Dobesh wins Wahoo's 2015 Poetry Out Loud championship!
WHS sophomore advances to Feb. 14 state regional at Joslyn Art Museum
Launch the media gallery 1 playerSophomore Matt Dobesh defeated six other finalists to win the 2015 Wahoo High School Poetry Out Loud Championship in the Performance-Learning Center on Friday, Jan. 31.
Dobesh recited the poems “The Last Laugh” by Wilfred Owen, and “Dirge in Woods” by George Meredith.
Dobesh narrowly defeated Hannah Brust in a tight competition. Elizabeth Hill captured the third place trophy, while Corby Brigham finished fourth, and Claire Johnston finished fifth.
Other students who qualified for the school finals out of the 80 participants in this year’s school finals were Carleigh Olson and Courtney Vanek.
The judges for this year’s school finals were WHS Principal Jason Libal, WPS Media Director David Privett, and WHS Language Arts Instructor Nicole Burg.
Dobesh will advance to the state regionals on February 14 at 2:00 p.m. at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha. Three students from the Omaha regional will then qualify for the state finals on the University of Nebraska at Lincoln campus.
The winner of the state finals will win $200 and $500 for his/her school to buy poetry books, and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. for the Poetry Out Loud National Finals on May 13-15. The state runner-up earns $100 and $200 for his/her school to purchase poetry books.
A total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends will be given at the Poetry Out Loud National Finals, including a $20,000 award for the National Champion.
The Omaha regional is open to the public and admission is free, so the Wahoo community is invited to support Matt in his bid to qualify for state.
Congratulations Matt and good luck at the regional competition!
