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GBHS Forensics wins Season-wide Sweepstakes
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COURTESY PHOTO Great Bend High School forensics students traveled to Buhler this past weekend, where they won the Season-wide Forensics Coaches Invitational Team Sweeps. Pictured are: back row, from left, Quinton Heath, Maddix Pokorski, Darcy Feist, Reese King, Alondra Alvarez and Kim Heath; front row, Anna Bitter, Milena Carbajal, Xanna Smith, Thomas Henrikson and Eave Taylor.

Great Bend High School was named the Season-wide Forensics Coaches Invitational (FCI) Team Sweeps Champion on Saturday at the annual FCI tournament. The host school district this year was Buhler. This Season-wide Sweepstakes recognizes the overall season success of the Panthers and is based on the total qualifications earned by the forensics squad as a whole.  

The purpose of the FCI tournament is twofold, said Panther Forensics Coach Kim Heath. First, it is a celebration and a showcase of the talented students across the state. Secondly, a team of highly qualified judges provide a final opportunity for the performers to receive feedback before the state competition.  

“To qualify for FCI, students must have a state championship qualification with multiple other placings and/or a national tournament qualification,” Heath said. “This is a tournament we look forward to all season long. It draws the best of the best from all of the KSHSAA classifications.”  

During lunch, four FCI student-nominated competitors performed for the crowd of attendees, coaches and judges.

Great Bend’s Duo Interpretation team of Eave Taylor and Thomas Henrikson were chosen by their fellow competitors for the showcase.

In the tournament itself, Great Bend finished in second place, losing to Lansing. Maddix Pokorski won first place in Extemporaneous Speaking and fifth place in Impromptu Speaking. Taylor and Henrikson took home the gold in Duo Interpretation. Alondra Alvarez placed second in Prose and sixth in Impromptu. In Dramatic Interpretation, Milena Carbajal was third and Xanna Smith was fourth. Milena also won fourth place in Poetry. Henrikson finished fourth in Humorous Interpretation. Darcy Feist placed second in both Original Oration and Program of Oral Interpretation. Anna Bitter took sixth place in Program of Oral Interpretation, and Quinton Heath was sixth in Prose. Reese King finished ninth in Informative Speaking.

Chrisangel Adame will join this team of students on Saturday to compete at the 5A KSHSAA State Championship at Valley Center. To qualify for the championships, each student placed first or second at a regular tournament.

Although GBHS qualified over 30 entries for the State Champs, each school is limited to 16 total entries. Those students representing GBHS at the 5A KSHSAA State Championship are Alondra Alvarez, Maddix Pokorski, Xanna Smith, Eave Taylor, Chrisangel Adame, Thomas Henrikson, Milena Carbajal, Darcy Feist, Anna Bitter, Reese King, and Quinton Heath. The remainder of Great Bend’s qualifiers will perform at the State Festival at Wichita Southeast High School on Saturday. The eight GBHS students representing the Panthers at the State Festival will include Theo Hokinson-Smith, Chanler Riley, Danica Cline, Lea Nokes, Ailey Williams, Hannah Hopkins, Keaton Kruckenberg, and Ellie Damm.