Speech and debate team second at Missoula
The Columbia Falls speech and debate team took second at the large AA meet in Missoula this weekend. Pictured in the front row, from left, are Cassidy Norick, Grant Miller, Emmalee Hellen, Paige Moriarty, Tre Finley, Callie Jo Johnson, Chloe Coberley and Maggie McKeon. In the second row are Anna Pickard, Lara Erickson, Laney Conger, Griffin Conger, Raphe Salmon, Ian McKenzie and Shayne Williams. In the third row are Sam Lovering, Jayden Webb, Ave' McDonald, Suzanna Rosalez, Isaac Adams, Emma Stephens and Katherine MacPherson. In the back row are Aiden Judge, Bailey Thomson, Courtney Thomson a…
The Columbia Falls speech and debate team earned a second-place finish over the weekend as it competed against larger Schools at the Missoula AA meet.
Matching orating skills against some of the largest schools in the region, Wildcat speakers competed in eight individual and two team events against students from 16 different schools over two long days on Friday and Saturday.
“It’s actually pretty grueling,” senior Wildcat competitor Cassidy Norick said. “We spend as much as 12 hours in direct competition at a tournament like this, debating or speaking, on our feet.”
In AA competitions, Classes A, B and C are grouped together for the team standings and Columbia Falls finished second overall, behind Class B powerhouse Loyola Sacred Heart. It was the first time in three competitions this season that the Wildcats did not finish first.
“We are definitely rebuilding our team this year, with a very large segment of our squad being young and inexperienced,” assistant coach Mikel Knutson said. “These are talented kids, and we are feeling good about the season, but we will have to keep working hard to develop our squad as we move toward divisionals in January.”
Columbia Falls’ 27 competitors performed very well against stiff competition from the larger school as the Wildcats placed three teams in the top six in policy debate led by Calie Jo Johnson and Tre Finley in third place. Shayne Williams and Ava Foley were right behind them in fourth place while Ian McKenzie and Maggie McKeon were sixth.
Columbia Falls also did well in public forum debate as Emma Stephens and Griffin Conger were third and Lara Erickson and Laney Conger were sixth.
In Lincoln-Douglas debate, Jayden Webb was 12th and Raphe Salmon was 14th while Sam Lovering finished 13th in extemporaneous speaking. Ave’ McDonald was ninth in humorous interpretation while Isaac Adams was 12th. Norick was ninth in informative speaking and Paige Moriarty finished 14th in original oratory.
The team will be at home this weekend as Columbia Falls hosts its annual meet Saturday. The team is still seeking to sign up a few more judges to help with the tournament. Anyone can participate, and does not need to be an expert to be a judge.
“This is a great chance to see these talented kids in action. There are no prerequisites to be a judge, so we invite anyone from the community to come help out,” Knutson said.
Anyone interested in helping with the Nov. 17 tournament should email head coach Tara Norick at tnorick@gmail.com.