Whitefish High School freshman Micah McFeely stood before her classmates with a smile on her face. She took a breath, and began to recite a poem from memory.

“At times it is like watching a face you have just met, trying to decide who it reminds you of— no one, surely, whom you ever hated or loved, but yes, somebody, somebody. You watch the face”

McFeely moved through the verses of Henry Taylor’s “The Way It Sometimes Is.” She paused at just the right places and added inflection to others. When she finished she returned to sit with her audience.

The three judges deliberated after having watched the performance of other students. They returned with a decision — McFeely performed the best recitation for the Poetry Out Loud competition.

McFeely earned first place. Keaton Grove earned second for Carl Dennis’ “Candles,” and Jackson Yates took third with Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.”

Poetry Out Loud is a national event that encourages youth to learn about poetry through memorization and recitation. The program encourages students to master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about literature.

Also performing in the competition were Travis McGill, “Battlefield” by Mark Turcotte; Kolton Mohn, “What Horror to Awake at Night” by Lorine Niedecker; and RJ Buzzard, “The Arrow and the Song” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.