Class A Speech and Debate: C-Falls rebounds to win big at Laurel Invitational

The Columbia Falls Speech and Debate team rebounded from its first tournament to top the competition at the Laurel Invitational Tournament on Saturday. The team topped the other 19 schools to take home the first place trophy.

Columbia Falls was able to close the gap in debate and win the tournament by 37 points over Frenchtown 146 to 109, a 55 point reversal from last week.

Frenchtown placed second with 109 points, followed by Whitefish in third with 88 points.

“I told the students that this year was going to be a challenge and they would have to work hard to hold off the competition, and they responded this week," Columbia Falls Head Coach Blake Ladenburg said. "We have to keep up the effort to keep this trajectory going.

"The rebound is promising for the team, but as Coach Mikel Knutson notes, 'we are still at the beginning of the season, and we have yet to see everyone’s full team.'"

Columbia Falls was led by strong performances in debate, taking the top two spots in Policy Debate and the top spot in Lincoln Douglas. Speech was led by second-place finishes in Dramatic Interpretation by Griffin Conger and Informative Speaking by Aiden Judge.

Overall 13 Columbia Falls students placed in the top 8. The team now turns its attention to the virtual tournament this upcoming week being hosted by Havre High School. This will be the last tournament before the holiday break.

Whhitefish Head Coach Sara Mueller said that after "getting some kinks" out in the online format, she was proud of the team's ability to rally around new performers and events.

"Rookie member Marina Nugent placed at her first tournament in Dramatic Interpretation, typically one of the larger and more competitive events," Mueller pointed out. "It was inspiring to see the rest of the team being so encouraging and also motivated by each other's successes. This bodes well for an overall rest of the season."

Each team needs to provide virtual judges for each tournament. If you are interested in judging at any tournament please email b_ladenburg@cfmtschools.net or muellers@whitefishschools.org.

Memorized Public Address

2.Lillian McDonald, C-Falls

Informative Speaking

2.Aiden Judge, C-Falls

3.Taylor Stephens, C-Falls

Impromptu Speaking

2.Abigail Bowden, Whitefish

3.Chloe Coberley, C-Falls

8.Paetra Cooke, Whitefish

Extemporaneous

2.Abigail Bowden, Whitefish

3.Grayson Butler, Whitefish

4.Aiden Judge, C-Falls

Dramatic Interpretation

2.Griffin Conger, C-Falls

3.Lucy Schindler, Whitefish

5.Zack Tillman, C-Falls

6.Chloe Coberley, C-Falls

8.Marina Nugent, Whitefish

Original Oratory

8.Paetra Cooke, Whitefish

Policy Debate

1.Emma Stephens and Tre Finley, C-Falls

2.Eleanor Hollingsworth and Finley Sundberg, C-Falls

4.Bethany Barnes and Emma Treiweiler, Whitefish

Public Forum Debate

4.Stacia Tremper and Sophie Tabor, Whitefish

Lincoln Douglas Debate

1.Eddie Chisholm, C-Falls