Fresh off a first-place finish at Garden City, the Great Bend High School debate team traveled to Halstead on Saturday, Sept. 24, to battle teams from 15 schools from across the state. Twelve Panther debaters comprising three novice and three varsity teams finished the second tournament of the year with a first-place trophy and an overall record of 23 wins and 7 losses.
Coach Kim Heath said the team was poised and prepared for the competition.
“We have been working hard in class and at evening work-sessions,” she said. “ This was the first tournament for our experienced debaters and some of our novices were getting their first debate experience as well. I was very proud of how our team worked together and brought home the first-place trophy against some tough opponents.”
Noteworthy Novices
“Our novice teams racked up win after win for the second weekend in a row,” Heath said. Freshmen Keaton Kruckenberg and Logan Urban defeated teams from Sterling, Campus (Haysville), Maize and Wichita East on their way to a first-place finish.
Freshmen Rhys Froetschner and Quinton Heath also were undefeated and finished in third place. They were victorious in debates with teams from Hoisington, Maize and Campus.
Freshmen Jennifer Palacio and Jenna Higgins also won all their rounds and placed fourth overall. They beat teams from Garden City, Wichita East, Campus and Maize.
Victory in Varsity
“I was equally impressed with our varsity teams,” Heath said.
Seniors Maddix Pokorski and Gavin Hirsh (who is in his first year of debate) posted a second-place finish with wins over Sedgwick, Ulysses and two Hoisington teams and a narrow loss to the tournament champs from Sacred Heart High School in Salina.
Senior Alondra Alvarez, who was without her usual partner due to illness, partnered with novice freshman Zach Hart and finished in seventh place with wins over teams from Hoisington, Campus and Maize and losses to Ulysses and Sacred Heart.
Juniors Chanler Riley and Justin Chanka finished 1-4 on the day with a win over Wichita East and losses to Ulysses, two Hoisington teams, and Sedgwick.
“Our freshmen really showed up today,” Heath said. “We had a great tournament at Garden City last week and the Halstead results confirmed that our young debaters are going to make Great Bend a powerful debate program for many years to come.
“Gavin and Zach are new to debate, but their experienced partners (Pokorski and Alvarez) showed awesome leadership and earned individual medals and helped us bring home the 1st place sweepstakes trophy.”
Home meet this weekend
The squad will host the Panther Debate Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 1. On the same day, a small group of novice and junior varsity debaters will travel to Sterling to compete.
Anyone interested in debate, technology, or politics is welcomed to volunteer as a judge on Saturday. For more information contact Kim Heath by email at kim.heath@usd428.net.
