C. Falls speech wins in Libby

Columbia Falls High School came out on top at the Libby Invitational speech and debate tournament Saturday.

Columbia Falls’ 96 points were enough to beat second-place Whitefish High School’s 59 points and third-place Polson High School’s three points.

“I saw some significant improvement in our performance over the weekend and saw some real determination in the kids to continue to work hard to overcome our lack of policy debaters and put ourselves in position to compete for a top three spot at state later this year,” Columbia Falls head coach Michael Christensen said.

Four of his team members finished won individual events in Libby. Whitefish took first in two debate events, and its speech competitors got better all day, head coach Pat McLaughlin said.

“I’m happy to say that our novice orators improved throughout the day, as well as the Impromptu” speakers, she said.

Libby and Ronan, both Class A schools, also competed at Libby. Eureka was the lone Class B school represented.

Junior varsity squads from Flathead and Glacier competed in the tournament as well. Flathead finished first in Class AA, with 104 points. Glacier 1 came in second with 67 points and Glacier 2 finished third with 19 points.

The Class A teams compete next this weekend at a two-day tournament in Hamilton.

Following are local results from Libby:

n Policy Debate — 1. Joe Mazur and Jack Hyer, Whitefish; 2. Ramond Symes and Cheyenne Rivera, Flathead; 3. Bria Frame and Gabriel Meyer, Flathead; 4. Cameron Brown and Jon Allen, Flathead; 5. Skyler Bexton and Zac French, Glacier; 6. Kyle Kyger and Ryan Schlotfeldt, Glacier

n Lincoln-Douglas Debate — 1. Josh Schott, Whitefish; 2. Ariel Ramstead, Columbia Falls; 3. Derek Janni, Whitefish; 4. Connell Rogers, Flathead; 5. Kaitlin Barnes, Columbia Falls; 6. Mary Wiedrich, Polson; 7. Ian Hollander, Glacier; 8. Elizabeth Rogers, Libby

n Extemporaneous Speaking — 1. Ben Robertson, Glacier; 2. Jesse Flickinger, Columbia Falls; 3. Melissa Nicole Hermes, Flathead; 4. Mariah Schuster, Flathead; 5. Natalie Law, Columbia Falls; 6. Kevin Kuper, Columbia Falls

n Impromptu Speaking — 1. Tucker Connell, Glacier; 2. Colleen Hoag, Glacier; 3. Tom Dooling, Flathead; 4. Bekah Allen, Flathead; 5. Ben Robertson, Glacier; 6. Nick LaGrandeur, Glacier; 7. Adam Cebulla, Glacier; 8. Chance Morine, Columbia Falls

n Humorous Oral Interpretation — 1. Hannah Brinton, Columbia Falls; 2. Anesse Burns, Eureka; 3. Brandon Brooks, Glacier; 4. Spencer Davis, Glacier; 5. Sami Barker, Glacier; 6. Jake Wilson, Flathead; 7. Brittanie Dull, Glacier; 8. Daniel Besler, Flathead

n Serious Oral Interpretation — 1. Ashley Carlson, Columbia Falls; 2. Katherine Champion, Glacier; 3. Amanda Farnham, Glacier; 4. Katie Larson, Glacier; 5. Tessa King, Glacier; 6. Merissa Cameron, Glacier; 7. LeAnna Herbert, Flathead; 8. Emily Moore, Glacier

n Memorized Public Address — 1. Ilene Terry, Flathead; 2. Brianna Larson, Glacier; 3. Nathan Trinastich, Columbia Falls; 4. Stephanie Christensen, Columbia Falls; 5. Melanie Noble, Glacier; 6. Mallere Venturini, Glacier; 7. Haley Hill, Whitefish; 8. Kassidy Martin, Flathead

n Original Oratory — 1. Stephanie Christensen, Columbia Falls; 2. Shiloh Knudsen, Columbia Falls; 3. Kassidy Martin, Flathead; 4. Julie Peterman, Whitefish; 5. Lily Diegel, Flathead; 6. Tessa King, Glacier; 7. Rachel Byrne, Flathead; 8. Zane Nelson, Flathead

n Expository Speaking — 1. Keri Potter, Columbia Falls; 2. Jennifer Jurva, Columbia Falls; 3. Toni Braig, Glacier; 4. Kaylan Radel, Glacier; 5. Elise Jarvis, Glacier; 6. Larissa Hanson, Polson; 7. Jake Williams, Flathead; 8. Kristen Owens, Glacier