Speech and debate team third at state

The Hot Springs County High School Speech and Debate Team's long and impressive 2024-2025 season closed with a third place trophy finish in 1A/2A at the Wyoming Speech and Debate Tournament at Cheyenne South High School in Cheyenne on March 13, 14, and 15. This year's large tournament included 34 schools in attendance with over 470 individual entries.

The tournament culminated nearly six months of competition that started back in October 2024. In the season-ending competition, five Bobcats earned All-State designation, and two were crowned 1A/2A State Champions in individual events.

For the second consecutive year, senior Rosalie Willson captured two 1A/2A State Champion titles: one in Extemporaneous Speaking and one with sophomore partner Annalyn Sharp in Policy Debate. Joining Willson and Sharp in All-State distinction are junior Dean Bihr, sophomore Hayden Franklin, and freshman Clayton Keller. Bihr took second place in 1A/2A in Lincoln-Douglas Debate and third place in Congressional Debate. Franklin took second place in 1A/2A in Poetry Interpretation, while Keller finished third in 1A/2A Lincoln-Douglas Debate.

Senior Kiesha Onyx Kraushaar also finished her Speech and Debate career with a strong showing earning fourth place 1A/2A finish in Dramatic Interpretation and sixth place in 1A/2A in Informative Speaking.

Coached by Lyle Wiley, Alyssa Brown, Riley Jeffs, Markie Whitney, and Tyler Kay, the team efforts led to a staging third place trophy in the 1A/2A classification at the large tournament, marking the seventh consecutive year of staging in sweepstakes for the Bobcat team.  

Assistant volunteer coach Jeffs reflected on the successful tournament. "It was incredible watching competitors fine-tune their pieces and speeches. They brought their all to the State Tournament and had positive attitudes throughout the year," said Jeffs.  He added, "They really built each other up. It's been a fantastic season and I'm very proud of everyone."

Fellow assistant volunteer coach Whitney was also impressed with the efforts of the Bobcats. "This season was such a blast and the State Tournament was no exception! As a debate coach, I saw firsthand our talented debaters work diligently at state to prepare arguments, research evidence, and craft their cases to the best of their ability. I'm so proud of our entire team," said Whitney.

Head coach and 1A/2A Wyoming Coach of the Season Wiley praised the Bobcat group for their tenacity and hard work throughout the season. "I have so much pride for all of these students," said Wiley who emphasized the tremendous growth he witnessed from the team since the beginning of the season. "These students put in the work and continued to improve," he added, "And we have a lot of exciting developments to look forward to in the future. I am blessed to have the chance to work with these students." 

Although the Bobcat's state competitive season now concludes with this tournament, the team has many growth opportunities and will be fundraising for the future. The team hopes to host another year of an asynchronous online tournament for high school and middle school competitors this Spring and also compete in the NSDA Last Chance Qualifier. Finally, the Bobcats will be represented by qualifiers at the National Speech and Tournament this June in Des Moines, Iowa.