Talkdown features top local speakers

Top speech and debate students from three schools will compete today in the Valley Talkdown at Glacier High School in Kalispell.

Glacier, Flathead and Columbia Falls high schools — dominant teams in Class AA and Class A speech for years — will participate in the exhibition speech meet.

The public is invited to attend the Valley Talkdown, which begins at 4:30 p.m. today at Glacier.

At 6:30 p.m., winners will be showcased in the Performance Hall, Wolfpack Black Box Theatre and classroom porches throughout the school.

“We will provide programs, schedules and help community members find appropriate rooms,” said Greg Adkins, tournament director and Glacier head coach. “The evening is relaxed, allowing community members to hop around from room to room and watch some of the best students in Montana.”

The Glacier Wolfpack has won back-to-back Class AA state championships.  

Flathead last won the state speech and debate title in 2009; the school has won eleven state AA championships since 1997, according to Adkins.

This year, Shannon O’Donnell is the Flathead head coach after serving as an assistant about a decade ago. O’Donnell, a former AA Coach of the Year, helped guide her team to an upset win over Glacier at the Kalispell Classic in November.

Columbia Falls, the perennial Class A powerhouse, has won five state championships in a row and 12 of the last 14 Class A state championships. Head Coach Tara Norick leads a team undefeated in Class A ranks so far this season.