Bobcat Speech and Debate novices shine at Wyoming Indian tournament

The Bobcat Novice Speech and Debate Team put on a show at the first ever Wyoming Indian Novice Speech and Debate Novice Tournament this weekend capturing first place in 1A/2A. Wyoming Indian's first ever tournament hosted 8 schools for novice competition.

Seven students represented the Bobcats at the competition, and here are some of the individual results. Freshman Dean Bihr finished second in Lincoln-Douglas Debate and third in Congressional Debate. Senior Alyssa Andreen took third in Lincoln Douglas Debate and sixth in Congress. Junior Brison Steere earned second in Original Oratory with his speech about Mentorship. Sophomores Brenden Butler and Zoey Larson finished third in Duo. Butler also earned fourth in Original Oratory and fifth in Humor. Larson finished fourth in Humor. Sophomore Ty Mann took third in Extemporaneous Speaking and fifth in Lincoln-Douglas Debate.

"I love novice tournaments," said head coach Lyle Wiley, "because they give our new performers and debaters a chance to shine." Varsity competitors also attend novice tournaments but they take the role of helpers and judges for the novices. "I love to see our team bind together to help new competitors find success, have fun, and get a sense of belonging in our Speech and Debate community," said Wiley.

In addition to being a young team with many new competitors, the Bobcats have added a new assistant coach, Alyssa Brown. "Alyssa is awesome," said Wiley, "she brings a lot of positive energy and kindness to our team, and she works well with all of the students."

Brown enjoys working with the students and expressed pride for their accomplishments at the Wyoming Indian tournament. "The team did an amazing job this weekend," Brown said, "Our novices really challenged themselves in trying new events and using the feedback from our last tournament to push their current pieces." Brown also added, "The varsity students stepped up and mentored not just our younger students, but students from other schools as well."

Next up for the Bobcat Speech and Debate Team is two home tournaments: a one day novice tournament on Saturday, December 17 and a two day tournament on Friday, January 6 and Saturday, January 7.  Community judges are always needed at the tournament, and if you are interested in judging to help out the Speech and Debate Team, please contact coach Lyle Wiley at lwiley@hotsprings1.org.