Bulldog debaters returned from the Speech Fiesta laden with hardware. The MHS team won the first-place Division A Sweepstakes trophy, three diamond medals, and several... MHS Debaters Win Division A Trophy

Bulldog debaters returned from the Speech Fiesta laden with hardware. The MHS team won the first-place Division A Sweepstakes trophy, three diamond medals, and several top-six places. The tournament took place in Watertown on Friday and Saturday, January 20- 21. Milbank competed against 20 schools across the state from Rapid City to Aberdeen.

Camron Graham and Dane Anderson debated their way to the semi-finals in Novice Public Forum to win fourth place. “An award not given, but should be recognized, is speaker points,” coach Kathy Tyler explained.  “Debaters are given up to 30 speaker points each round. Camron received at total of 117 points in the first four rounds and was the second highest point earner in Novice Public Forum.” 

During Friday’s events, Rylen Frerichs made the final cut in Novice Extemp. He was required to choose a topic, study it for 30 minutes, and present his case in less than seven minutes. He earned sixth place amongst a field of 33 speakers. Camron Graham competed for the first time in Novice Extemp and finished with 2, 3, and 6 rankings in his three rounds.

The Junior Varsity Public Forum team of Qualon Grant and Shane Spiering finished with a 2-2 record. They missed the semi-finals by a heartbreaking one point, but brought home fifth place. According to Tyler, in the luck of the draw, the team of Elexia Quintanilla and Rylen Frerichs faced every finalist team. They ended the day with a 0-4 record,

Camila Monroy placed fifth in Student Congress on Saturday and eighth in Student Congress on Friday.

Ruth Gomez and Carlos Olivares Zuniga’s entered the Novice Oratory event. Ruth received rankings of 2,5,and 4. Carlos received  3,2,5. Tyler said, “The judges’ comments kept getting better in each round, so we ended on a good note.”

Qualon Grant, Jericho Jones, Shane Spiering, Dana Chan, and Ixtal Macias participated in Varsity Informative Oratory. “The subject was up to the performer. Visual aids are a necessity and can get very interesting, to say the least,” Tyler commented. “It was classified as a varsity event, and thus the competition was fierce.” Grant received rankings of 5,4 and 2 to take 12th place out of 23. 

Trixie Coulter, a novice Lincoln-Douglas debater, and Max Schuelke, a varsity Lincoln-Douglas debater each finished with a 1-3 record.

What’s next? The Bulldogs travel to the Lewis and Clark Invitational in Yankton set for January 27-28. Participants will debate the February topic Resolved: In the United States, right-to-work laws do more harm than good. Tyler said, “We are adding four novice PF teams to the roster. It should be a good trip.”

Submitted Photos: Back L to R:  Dane Anderson, Shane Spiering, Qualon Grant, Max Schuelke, Trixie Coulter, Camron Graham, Rylen Frerichs, Elexia Quintanilla, Camila Monroy.

IE’ers: Ixtal Macias, Carlos Olivares Zuniga, Ruth Luis Gomez, Dana Chan, Jericho Jones.

Staff

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