Trophy shelf space is hard to find in the squad room of the Great Bend High School debate team this season. Coach Kim Heath’s team brought another championship trophy home from Dodge City last weekend, topping WAC rival squads from Liberal and Garden City.

In varsity action, junior Chrisangel Adame and sophomore Lea Nokes won second-place medals with a 4-1 record for the second week in a row. Senior Xanna Smith paired with freshman Zachary Hart to go 3-2 on the day and earned fifth-place medals. Sixth-place medals went to juniors Milena Carbajal and Thomas Henrikson who also went 3-2. Senior Aliyah Fryberger and freshman Jennifer Palacio also finished 3-2 just out of medal contention at seventh place.  

Juniors Chanler Riley and Justin Chanka also debated in the varsity division for the Panthers. In addition, two novice teams tried out their skills in the varsity division. Senior Gavin Hirsh and freshman Hannah Hopkins had a respectable 3-2 win-loss record, while freshmen Quinton Heath and Rhys Froetschner gained valuable experience against seasoned varsity teams. “Facing experienced debaters instead of other novices really helps the kids realize that speaking skills are not enough to be successful at the varsity level,” Coach Heath said. “They have a much better understanding of the way arguments are structured and how to answer more sophisticated arguments.”

All of the GBHS novice teams went 3-2 on the day with third-place medals going to sophomores Ailey Williams and Danica Cline. Freshmen Ellie Damm and Kaylee Haag earned fifth-place medals while seventh-place went to freshmen Logan Urban and Keaton Kruckenberg.  

The Panthers travel east this weekend and will compete at both Nickerson and Sedgwick High School.