Bobcat Speech and Debate team wraps up regular season

The Hot Springs County High School Speech and Debate Team closed out the regular season with two simultaneous third place finishes in small school divisions at separate tournaments. Ten students, accompanied by coaches Alyssa Brown, Riley Jeffs, and Tyler Kay, competed at the Greybull Forensics Challenge Speech and Debate Tournament held at Greybull High School on February 21-22, while five debaters, accompanied by coaches Lyle Wiley and Markie Whitney, competed at the Star Valley Tournament of the Brave at Star Valley High School on February 21-22.

The Star Valley group found success in debate events at their final competition of the regular season. Junior Dean Bihr had another outstanding tournament at Star Valley.  Bihr placed second in Congressional Debate in a large group and finished third in Lincoln-Douglas Debate. Freshman Clayton Keller also had a strong showing in Lincoln-Douglas with an eighth place finish. Junior Luci Andreen broke into Super Congress with Bihr and finished in tenth place overall in Congressional Debate.

Senior Rosalie Willson and sophomore Annalyn Sharp finished in third place in Policy Debate to close out a great debate regular season. Willson also had a good run in Extemporaneous Speaking, taking ninth place overall. Additionally, Sharp finished in ninth place in Original Oratory.

Speech Bobcats who traveled to Greybull were also successful.  Senior Ki Kraushaar had another impressive tournament, capturing fourth place in Informative Speaking and ninth place in Dramatic Interpretation. Sophomore Aubriana Layman broke into finals in both Poetry and Program Oral Interpretation. Layman placed third in POI and fourth in Poetry. Sophomore Hayden Franklin also finished in sixth in Poetry after breaking into the final round.

Freshman Allyssa Hough ended in thirteenth place in Dramatic Interpretation in the close of her first regular season of competition. Sophomore Riley Crowder finished in the top twenty of Informative Speaking. Junior Kass Chavez took ninth in Impromptu while sophomore teammates Teancum Gevas and Jackson Coates tied for twelfth place in Impromptu. Jackson also placed eleventh in Humorous Interpretation while Gevas placed twelfth. Gevas and freshman Rylee Simpson took twelfth in Duo Interpretation while Layman and Franklin finished fourteenth.

Assistant Coach Alyssa Brown continues to be impressed with the team’s hard work and success. “The team keeps pushing and challenging themselves, and it has been truly fun to watch. It continues to be an 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 growing ready for culminating tournaments.  “Our results this weekend were especially impressive because the team was split in two ways,” said Wiley, “but both groups pulled together and gave a great effort.  I am confident that the team is in a good place in terms of preparedness and unification for the end of the season. It has been so encouraging to watch these students support each other as they work hard to improve their craft.”

Bobcat Speech and Debate will now head into the postseason with the Wind River District National Qualifying Tournament in Riverton on February 27-March 1, and the Wyoming State Speech and Debate Tournament in Cheyenne on March 13-15.