Speech and Debate team first at state

The Bobcat Speech and Debate team became 1A/2A State Champions during the virtual state tournament last weekend.

"It has been so gratifying to watch students who have put in endless hours of work practicing, networking, doing research, writing and helping one another find success.  This team takes pride in putting in the work to earn opportunities to succeed, and I am honored to get the chance to work with these students. This is a young team, too. It is so exciting to see freshmen win All-State Awards at this stage in their competitive careers. I think we will have some very competitive years ahead of us," said head coach Lyle Wiley.

Individual results at state speech and debate include:

Jean-Luc Willson and Jacob Randall - second in Policy Debate

Jean-Luc Willson - sixth Overall in Extemporaneous Speaking

1A/2A All-State Awards:

Jean-Luc Willson and Jacob Randall - first in Policy Debate

Jean-Luc - first in Extemporaneous Speaking

Jacob Randall - third in Extemporaneous Speaking

Josiah Butler - first in Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Elizabeth Keller - third in Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Delayni Custer - first in Original Oratory

Bobcat head coach Wiley was chosen as Coach of the Season for 1A/2A by the Wyoming Speech and Debate Community for 2020-2021. He received the honor last year for the 2019-2020 season. He also won the honor in 2016-17 as a coach in Torrington.

"I am consistently knocked off my feet by the love and generosity of the Wyoming Speech and Debate community - a community of friends and servants. I am humbled, and I feel so very blessed to work with students here in Thermopolis doing this activity that I believe makes a real difference in the lives of students," said Wiley of the honor

One of the nomination letters for Wiley read, "We would like to nominate Lyle Wiley for the 1A/2A Coach of the Season Award. Lyle not only served our community as a State Officer in the most difficult season in living memory, but also created the most wonderfully helpful and popular One Clap Speech and Debate Podcast. His spirit of generosity and community is unmatched in Wyoming. When the pandemic first hit, many felt that we should pause the speech and debate experience until we knew things would be safer. Lyle shared these concerns, but found an opportunity to activate and reach out to others when it was much easier to do the opposite. Without knowing what it would become, Lyle put his own time and money into One Clap and created a new space for Wyoming speech and debate resources and stories."

Another nomination letter added, "In a year that nearly destroyed us all, for many of us, showing up was enough as that in itself was a tall order. Lyle went beyond just showing up though. He supported us. He defended us. He volunteered for us. He advocated for us. He reminded us why we do this crazy thing. He was there for us in every possible way. He is the most popular member of the MFC."

Ever humble and thankful, Wiley also said, "The community has been so encouraging and congratulatory towards our team accomplishments, and we are thankful to represent Thermopolis and Hot Springs County High School."

Coach Cindy Glasson added "I am so proud of this young team and the hard work they have put in to create such success. As a coach, my greatest pleasure is watching them succeed and the confidence that suddenly emerges. Of course, the screaming, crying and hugging that goes with winning a state championship is pretty awesome, too."

This week, the team will have their final competition of the season, The Wind River National Qualifier Tournament.