Bobcat Speech and Debate Team takes third at final regular season tournament

The Hot Springs County High School Speech and Debate Team closed out the regular season with a third place finish in the small school division at the Greybull Forensics Challenge Speech and Debate Tournament, held at Greybull on February 17-18. 

Finishing the regular season strong, junior and co-team captain Julia Quintanilla had a special tournament.  First, she brought the laughs in Humorous Interpretation with a 3rd place finish in Finals. Then, Quintanilla broke into the final round and finished 7th in Program Oral Interpretation. Finally, Quintanilla and partner, sophomore Zoey Larson, captured 8th place with their humorous Duo performance. 

Larson, competing in Extemporaneous Speaking for the first time, finished in 3rd place, while Brison Steere took 2nd place in the platform speaking event.  Junior Delayni Custer added to the platform speaking success with a 3rd place finish in Original Oratory.

 Sophomore and co-team captain Rosalie Willson had an impressive Program Oral Interpretation performance, finishing in 10th place.  

Senior and co-team captain Chris Bapst once again paced the Congressional Debate competitors, capturing 8th place.  Freshman Dean Bihr was right behind Bapst, placing 9th.  Sophomore Ben Weaver and Willson impressed as well with rankings in the top 15 of Congress.

Assistant Coach Alyssa Brown has been impressed with the team’s hard work and success. “The team keeps pushing and challenging themselves, and it has been awesome to watch.  As someone who is new to the world of Speech and Debate, it has been a true honor to learn from these students and watch them grow in their abilities. I cannot wait to watch and support them in our upcoming national qualifier and state tournament,” said Brown.

Head Coach Lyle Wiley thinks the team is ready for culminating tournaments.  “Our Greybull tournament was especially impressive because we were missing key competitors due to illness and other commitments,” said Wiley, “but the team pulled together and gave a great effort. I am confident that the team is in a good place in terms of preparedness and unification. It has been so encouraging to watch these students support each other as they work hard to improve their craft.”

The Bobcats will now head into postseason with the District National Qualifying Tournament in Rock Springs on February 23-25 and the Wyoming State Tournament in Cheyenne on March 9-11.