MHS Debaters Win Second Place at Sioux Falls Tourney

The MHS forensics team won the second-place Class A sweepstakes trophy at the Third Annual Jefferson Cavalier Tournament held Friday and Saturday, February 2-3, at Sioux Falls Jefferson High School. Five of the eight Bulldog debaters who competed made the stage.

Debaters who had a winning record after five rounds made the finals—either octo finals or octo-octo finals. In varsity Lincoln-Douglas, Max Schuelke and Bri Hicks each ended with a 4-2 record.

According to Kathy Tyler, head coach for Milbank, the tournament also presented awards for top speaker points. Although Schuelke recorded four perfect 30-point scores, he missed third place in speaker points by .06 of a point.

Keira Steffen placed fourth in junior varsity Congressional Debate. In junior varsity Public Forum, the team of Shane Spiering and Trixie Coalter placed fifth. Spiering also received the third-place speaker award.

Charlotte Street, who was paired with Dana Chan, collected sixth place in speaker points. “I am so proud of her award as this was only her second debate tournament,” MHS head coach Kathy Tyler commented, “To me, speaker points are just as important as the debate itself. Those points are an indication of the quality of the speaker — knowledge, speaking ability, and professionalism.”

I am also so proud of all our debaters. Of the nine debaters, four are first-year debaters, and they are doing amazing work. Being a good debater takes lots of time, and these students are putting forth that effort.

What’s next? The Bulldogs travel to the Rushmore Challenge at Harrisburg High School on February 9-10. Tyler says, “This is a huge event and the prelude to the National Qualifier Tournament scheduled for the following weekend.