This past weekend, the Great Bend High School Panther Speech team traveled to Salina South and finished in fourth place out of 15 schools, forensics coach Kim Heath reported.
“The tournament was a little more difficult than the earlier tournaments we have attended, but it allowed us to see some schools that we will compete against at state later in the season,” Heath said.
Numerous Panthers made it into the final rounds and earned hardware in their individual events. Malachi Wasson and Isaiah Smith were 1st in Duet Acting. Darcy Feist finished 3rd in Oration and 5th in Prose. Milena Carbajal took home a 5th place medal in Poetry and a 6th place medal in Serious Solo. Reese King placed 6th in Informative. In Humorous Solo, Thomas Henrikson was 2nd while Wasson placed 4th. Finally, Maddix Pokorski won 3rd and Adeline Dougherty won 4th place in Program of Oral Interpretation.
Sachary Benefield, Justin Chanka, Xanna Smith and Eave Taylor also earned points for the Panther’s fourth place finish.
Panthers place 2nd at Sterling
The forensics team won the Second Place Sweepstakes Trophy on February 5 at the Sterling Forensics Invitational.
Five Panther forensic students also earned six new state qualifications for the KSHSAA State Tournament in May.
Maddix Pokorski led the squad by capturing three medals and two state qualifications. Pokorski was second in Impromptu Speaking and third in Extemporaneous Speaking. In Poetry Interpretation, Pokorski placed second and Rebeca Rodriguez took home a sixth-place medal.
Two of the new qualifications were in Informative Speaking. Thomas Henrikson finished first and Reese King was second. Angel Palacio placed fifth in Informative Speaking. In another speaking event, Original Oratory, Alondra Alvarez also qualified for State by placing second.
In the acting events, Milena Carbajal and Alondra Alvarez captured a state qualification by finishing second in Duet Acting. Henrikson placed fourth in Humorous Solo Acting, while Carbajal finished sixth in Serious Solo Acting.
Though this is their second time winning a sweepstakes trophy in the same number of weeks, coach Heath shared that bringing home team hardware isn’t their only focus.
“We concentrate on supporting each other and overcoming our anxiety to put together the highest-quality performances possible,” she said. “My goal is for students to do their best and leave the tournament feeling like they are improving as actors or public speakers. The students each have their own story that they are working hard to share. If we happen to also capture a sweepstakes award, that’s just a little something extra to feel proud about.”
Dalton Ruble, Chanler Riley, Chrisangel Adame, Eave Taylor, Theodore Hopkinson Smith also earned points for Great Bend.
