Kellogg freshman shows out at state speech

KELLOGG — Kellogg High School freshman Dayton Wiksten recently returned from the Idaho State Speech competition where he was a semifinalist.

As a freshman, Wiksten was in uncharted territory, as competition into the semifinal rounds are normally dominated by seniors and some juniors — however, he braved the waters with confidence.

While he didn’t bring home a top finish, the experience itself was almost as valuable.

“There was definitely a lot to take away from the competition, I hopefully will be able to use this as a way to improve,” Wiksten said.

He competed in the panel and impromptu categories, but his semifinal run came in the panel discussion. The panel discussion is similar to a debate, but is intended to avoid arguing.

Students are divided into groups, then one of five predetermined topics covering a myriad of differing subjects are selected for the discussion.

The goal of each discussion is to come to a general consensus on the subject.

Competitions like this can wear on students, especially when they’re experiencing it for the first time.

“It was a lot of fun, but it was also very stressful,” Wiksten said. “I’d be lying if I said it was more fun than stressful. There were a few things I would do differently to get them to run smoothly, but overall I really did enjoy it.”

Wiksten was one of 12 semifinalists, but despite his age, he has one thing going for him that really sets him apart from other competitors his age — his voice.

Wiksten has a baritone voice that sounds like James Earl Jones dipped honey.

“Voice gives you an advantage,” Wiksten said. “It’s all about how you sound.”

Next year, he said he plans to look into moving to the radio category, where he would be really relying on that voice to grab his listeners’ attention.