C-Falls strong for state after taking division title
The Columbia Falls Speech and Debate team is in a prime position heading into state after capturing first place at the Class A Western Divisional Speech and Debate tournament over the weekend.
Columbia Falls took home the trophy with 213 overall points. Whitefish placed second with 161 points.
The Columbia Falls team was led by first place performances by Shyane Williams and Emma Stephens in Policy Debate; Griffin Conger in Humorous Interpretation; Isaac Adams in Dramatic Interpretation and Maggie McKeon in Extemporaneous Speaking.
Columbia Falls Assistant Coach Blake Ladenburg was encouraged by the strong finish across the different events and recognized there is still more hard work to put in before going head-to-head against Whitefish on their home turf this Friday and Saturday at state. Columbia Falls competitor Shyane Williams noted the team is putting in the effort practicing.
“All of us, competitors and coaches, are grinding to the finish and hoping that our hard work pays off,” Williams said.
Leading the Whitefish team were divisional champions Grace Benkelman in Memorized Public Address and Bethany Barnes in Informative Speaking.
“Whitefish is proud to head into our home state tournament with two divisional champions, Grace Benkelman and Bethany Barnes,” Whitefish Head Coach Sara Mueller said. “These two competitors are continuing a line of success, as they are both the defending 2019 state champions in their events. As a team, we were able to qualify 28 entries to the Class A state tournament. This kind of success will give us the best opportunity to finish out the season with a strong showing next weekend. We thank the community for their support in hosting this large tournament.”
The Class A state tournament will be held at Whitefish High School and Whitefish Middle School. The first debate round kicks off at 11 a.m. Friday with the first speech and drama rounds starting at 1 p.m.
An awards ceremony is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the Whitefish Performing Arts Center.
Following are individual results with students advancing to state:
Policy Debate
1. Shyane Williams and Emma Stephens, Columbia Falls
3. Finley Sundberg and Ava Foley, Columbia Falls
4. Tre Finley and Calie Johnson, Columbia Falls
5. Gavin Carmichael and McKenna Ferril, Whitefish
6. Jordan Hayes and Dash Schindler, Whitefish
7. Chaz Gillette and Grayson Butler, Whitefish
Public Forum Debate
3. Stacia Tremper and Sophie Tabor, Whitefish
6. Lara Erickson and Laney Conger, Columbia Falls
7. Jesse Rusche and Damon Morris, Columbia Falls
11. Zoe Tremper and Addie Blackaby, Whitefish
12. Muriel Mercer and Rachel Rowles, Whitefish
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
3. Raphe Salmon, Columbia Falls
4. Elizabeth Campbell, Whitefish
8. Eddie Chisholm, Columbia Falls
9. Konnor Heindl, Columbia Falls
13. Luca Welle, Whitefish
Humorous Interpretation
1. Griffin Conger, Columbia Falls
2. Isaac Adams, Columbia Falls
8. Logan Mercer, Whitefish
10. Ave McDonald, Columbia Falls
11. Eden Scrafford, Whitefish
Dramatic Interpretation
1. Isaac Adams, Columbia Falls
2. Lucy Schinder, Whitefish
3. Griffin Conger, Columbia Falls
6. Gabby Pickert, Whitefish
10. Chloe Coberley, Columbia Falls
Memorized Public Address
1. Grace Benkelman, Whitefish
3. Suzanna Rosalez, Columbia Falls
4. Julia Sowerwine, Columbia Falls
5. Ave McDonald, Columbia Falls
6. Danika Tintzman, Whitefish
10. Rachel Bowland, Whitefish
Original Oratory
2. Julia Sowerwine, Columbia Falls
5. Adrienne Healy, Whitefish
6. Sheridan Skerritt, Columbia Falls
7. Lucy Schindler, Whitefish
9. Suzanna Rosalez, Columbia Falls
12. Aidan Reid, Whitefish
Informative Speaking
1. Bethany Barnes, Whitefish
2. Gabby Pickert, Whitefish
3. Anna Pickard, Columbia Falls
5. Molly Kurkowski, Bigfork
6. Eden Scrafford, Whitefish
7. Aiden Judge, Columbia Falls
9. Taylor Stephens, Columbia Falls
Impromptu Speaking
2. Abigail Bowden, Whitefish
3. Danika Tintzman, Whitefish
5. Chloe Coberley, Columbia Falls
8. Sam Lovering, Columbia Falls
9. Adrienne Healy, Whitefish
10. Maggie McKeon, Columbia Falls
Extemporaneous Speaking
1. Maggie McKeon, Columbia Falls
2. Abigail Bowden, Whitefish
3. Sam Lovering, Columbia Falls
8. Bethany Barnes, Whitefish
9. Aiden Judge, Columbia Falls
12. Sydney Garcia, Whitefish