The Great Bend High School Debate Team continued its winning ways two weekends ago at Sacred Heart High School as they earned the 2nd place team sweepstakes trophy. Eight schools competed for tournament sweepstakes in Salina, and Great Bend placed second between McPherson and Manhattan High School.
Area high schools continue to spend weekends debating whether or not the United States should increase its cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to expand cooperation in emerging technology.
“Our students are working hard to prepare the research, and the team continues to grow each weekend. Varsity and Novice debaters worked together in seamless fashion. The team showed a lot of leadership this week,” said Panther coach, Kim Heath.
In the novice division, Ellie Damm paired with Kaylee Haag. The two freshmen placed 3rd, winning all rounds except for one. Another Freshman, Zachary Hart, debated with sophomore Jenna Higgins and finished fifth with three wins and two losses. Finally, two sophomores, Danica Cline and Ailey Williams ended the day with a record of two wins and three losses in the novice division.
The varsity debaters had an impressive weekend starting with senior Maddix Pokorski and junior Thomas Henrikson. The team went 4-1 and placed 2nd in the tournament just behind an undefeated team from McPherson. Seniors Addy Dougherty and Xanna Smith also had a very successful day finishing 3-2 and bringing home fifth place medals.
Chrisangel Adame and Lea Nokes finished in the top ten with three wins and two losses. While Alondra Alvarez, Milena Carbajal, Darcy Feist, and Reese King all had two wins and three losses. Second year debater, Analeah Ochs, partnered with sophomore novice, Theo Hopkinson Smith and won their first round of the day before finishing 1-4 against some tough competition.
GBHS top at Hoisington
The Panther debate team racked up top finishes in both divisions of the Cardinal Nest Debate Invitational in Hoisington. Great Bend had the most wins of all ten schools and brought home the first place sweepstakes trophy. Panther coach Kim Heath shared, “As a Cardinal alumnus, Hoisington tournaments are special to me. Not only is it an easy trip, but it is also where I fell in love with debate and forensics as a young teenager. Mr. Reisner and his students always work hard to attract good competition and host a quality tournament.”
Freshmen Rhys Froetschner and Quinton Heath brought home the gold in the Novice division. They accumulated a record of 4 wins and 1 loss during the tournament. The top three teams each took a loss from the other and at the end of the day the GBHS debaters had the best speaker points. The boys beat two teams from TMP, a Halstead team and a Ulysses team but lost to novices from Sterling.
“I was not surprised that Rhys and Quinton did so well because they’ve shown incredible commitment since day one,” Heath said, noting this is the third consecutive time the boys had medaled.
“The squad’s preparation, and unity is key to our success,” explained head coach Kim Heath. “Even while at the tournament, Panther debate students rallied around to help each other prepare for arguments that their teammates hit in earlier rounds. These kids do not stop working to make sure that every member of the team has the arguments they need to win.”
The two-person team of Thomas Henrikson and Maddix Pokorski won the varsity Open division. The boys won rounds against two different Garden City teams, Ulysses and Sacred Heart. Even though they did lose a round to a team from Sterling, their speaker quality points were excellent, and they held onto the top spot.
Panther debaters placing in the Open division of the tournament also included Chrisangel Adame and Lea Nokes in second place, and Aliyah Fryberger and Xanna Smith in third place. Adame and Nokes defeated teams from Garden City, Kinsley, Ulysses, and Sacred Heart. Their only loss was to a different Sacred Heart Team. Fryberger and Smith were also victorious over Garden City, Ulysses and Kinsley but lost rounds against Sacred Heart and Garden City.
Finally, Great Bend’s Freshman team of Ellie Damm and Hannah Hopkins received sixth place medals in the Open division, which is typically filled by upperclassmen. Coach Heath expressed that “the willingness of these students to challenge themselves by trying varsity debate speaks to their commitment and work ethic.”
On the way to the sweepstakes honors, points were also earned by Darcy Feist and Reese King in the open division, and Jay Creamer and Theo Hopkinson Smith in the novice division.
