Columbia Falls edges out Whitefish at speech and debate tourney

Columbia Falls High School speech and debate last weekend edged out Whitefish for the top spot at the Whitefish Invitational.

Columbia Falls scored 150 overall points for the hard-fought win, head coach Dawn Roe said, marking its seventh tournament win of the season. Whitefish High School scored 139 points for second place. Polson High School placed third with 103 points.

“We are off for the holiday break and will be working hard on our events before our final regular season tournament the first weekend in January at Glacier High School,” Roe said.

Whitefish hosted 17 high schools at the Dec. 16 tournament, the largest since the high school has held since the 2020 Class A State Tournament. This included junior varsity competitors from Flathead and Glacier high schools.

“The home tournament requires coaches to spend time away from coaching to prepare. We were proud of the students’ efforts in practice to work with each other. We are thrilled to head into January with this momentum,” Whitefish head coach Sara Mueller said.

Mueller voiced her gratitude for the turnout and the time community members took to serve as volunteer judges.

“We are grateful for an exceptional turnout and support from judges in the community to make the event possible and former competitors who helped with the running of the meet,” she said. “We also wish to thank the schools and the district for supporting our team.”

Following are individual results.

Policy Debate

1. Lauren Rogers & Boone Shanks, Columbia Falls

2. Bjorn Bungener and Jake Dunker, 

3. Alex Losee and Vana Fortune, Whitefish

4. Tristen Jorgenson & Robert Knowles, Glacier

5. Eleanor Hollingsworth & Kynsleigh Gould, Columbia Falls

6. Cayden Porter & John Provo, Flathead

7. Laney Petersen & Zavier Innerbichler, Glacier

8. Isaac Sandler & Gray Lawrence, Flathead

Lincoln-Douglas Debate

 1. Brody Turner, Flathead

2. Charlotte Perkins, Whitefish

3. Maya Graham, Flathead

7. Celestine Young, Columbia Falls

8. Vaida Cole, Glacier

Public Forum Debate

2. Ana Alevizos and Avery McPherson, Whitefish 

3. Chris Daenzer & Quinn Caudle, Columbia Falls

5. Kinsey Lacey & Kailey Berman, Glacier

6. Jayce McDonald and Brynn McDonald, Whitefish 

7. Brysen Herion & Brett Pesola, Flathead

8. Saige Smith and Shailey Green, Whitefish

Dramatic Interpretation

 1. Reed Wollenzein, Columbia Falls

2. Fallon Maas, Flathead

3. Cole Pickert, Whitefish 

5. Annie Walsh, Whitefish

8. Lynne Beisel, Flathead

Humorous Interpretation

2. Eli Sanderson Strutz, Glacier

5. Danika Sudan, Glacier

7. Miles Kuss, Flathead

8. Keelan Moore, Flathead

Duo Interpretation

1. Lucas Counts & Kajsa Mohr, Columbia Falls 

2. Carson Settles & Reed Wollenzein, Columbia Falls

3. Scarlet Burke and Unity Loveless, Whitefish

4. Makinzie Taylor & Ruby Davis, Columbia Falls

7. Megan Mikelson & Zach Nases, Glacier

8. Gracie Odom & Myla Johnson, Flathead

Extemporaneous Speaking

1. Blake Lindemann, Glacier

2. Kendall Dolan, Glacier

3. Avery Sorensen, Whitefish

4. Thomas Bertram, Flathead

6. Selah Heinzen, Columbia Falls

7. Derek McDonough, Flathead

8. Avery Bender, Glacier

Impromptu Speaking

2. Kelsea Bemis, Glacier

3. Erek Benson, Flathead

4. Blake Lindemann, Glacier

6. Ava Bee, Whitefish 

7. Astir Pulsifer, Whitefish

8. Olivia McCarley, Columbia Falls

Informative Speaking

1. Ruby Davis, Columbia Falls 

5. Carson Settles, Columbia Falls

6. Scarlet Burke, Whitefish

Memorized Public Address

1. Claire Timm, Flathead

2. Jacob Braach, Flathead

3. Merell Cooley, Columbia Falls

4. Unity Loveless, Whitefish

5. Hadley Dennison, Flathead

6. Kira Shanks, Columbia Falls

7. Eleanor Smiley, Columbia Falls

8. Ella Walker, Whitefish

Original Oratory

2. Claire Timm, Flathead

4. Astir Pulsifer, Whitefish

5. Iona Sarraille, Whitefish

6. Layna Astley, Flathead

8. Isabelle McKoy, Glacier

Mime

1. Ada Milner, Flathead