Speech and debate brings home title

The Hot Springs Speech and Debate team captured the 1A/2A Champion title at the Big Horn Speech and Debate Tournament held at Big Horn High School on January 26-27. The Bobcats brought 15 students to compete in the tournament that hosted 10 schools including large teams from South Dakota. 

Bobcats celebrated numerous individual tournament champions at the tournament.  Seniors Ivey Goff and Brison Steere impressed with their first place title in Duo Interpretation, and Goff was also named tournament champion in Humorous Interpretation. Additionally, sophomore Dean Bihr captured the champion plaque for Congressional Debate in a heavily populated field. 

Senior Julia Quintanilla completed another strong tournament with second place finishes in both Poetry Interpretation and Program Oral Interpretation. Fellow senior Chris Bapst also logged an excellent tournament with a sixth place finish in Congressional Debate and a third place effort with partner and junior Brendan Butler in Duo Interpretation. Butler added a sixth place rank in Humorous Interpretation. 

Junior Rosalie Willson impressed in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, finishing in fifth place and sporting a 3-2 record. Bihr also debated well, ending in seventh place in LD. Willson added to her spirited competition with a third place finish in Program Oral Interpretation and a ninth place finish in Informative Speaking. Freshman Annalyn Sharp also placed in Program Oral Interpretation, landing in fourth place.

Junior Kiesha Kraushaar kept audiences laughing, placing third in Humorous Interpretation. Kraushaar also took fourth place in Dramatic Interpretation. Sophomore Kassidee Chavez placed fifth in Dramatic Interpretation in her first competition of the season. 

Freshmen partners, Aubriana Layman and Hayden Franklin, concluded competition in seventh place in Duo Interpretation. Layman captured eighth place in Poetry Interpretation, while Franklin took third place in Dramatic Interpretation. Sophomore Luci Andreen added to the team success with a tenth place finish in Poetry Interpretation, and freshman Jackson Coates landed fourth in Humorous Interpretation. Freshman Riley Crowder, who continues to improve in Original Oratory, ended in fifteenth place.

In his sixth year as head coach, Lyle Wiley praised his team’s efforts. “The team is really coming together, working hard every week, and embracing the learning process. I see so much learning and growth happening with our team every week, and I’m so proud of them all,” said Wiley.

In agreement with Wiley, assistant coach Riley Jeffs said, “Trophies may not be the main reason for doing this, but it sure was fun watching team members happy dance on stage after so much hard work. Everyone keeps improving across the board.” Assistant coach Grace Martin added, “The kids did a wonderful job at the tournament. They had great attitudes and it paid off. I can’t wait to see what they do at Jackson.”

Next up, the Bobcats will be competing at the Jackson Teton Invitational Speech and Debate Tournament at Jackson Hole High School on February 2-3.