Competition was fierce at the holiday Classic Speech & Debate Tournament hosted virtually by Cheyenne East High School on December 18-19. Still, the Jackson Hole High School Speech & Debate team managed to come out with a 7th place sweepstakes finish. Some 58 teams from 15 states accounted for more than 500 entries at the meet. The Jackson team, coached by Londe and Peggy Gagnon, ended up tied with powerhouse Cherry Creek High School from Colorado for their 7th place finish. This is the final tournament of the season that hosts a mix of novice and varsity events. The Jackson novices thrived during the weekend. Junior Sarah Schweitzer was the novice Extemporaneous Speaking champion. Sophomore Sophie Lamb tied for 2nd place in the event but was awarded 3rd place due to a tiebreaker. Sophomore Jackson Neishabouri placed 7th. Lamb went on to place 2nd in novice Lincoln Douglas Debate. She spent the weekend arguing both sides of whether or not the United States should provide a federal jobs guarantee. Sophomore Julieta Anaya placed 4th in varsity Humorous Interpretation with her rendition of “A Step-by-Step Guide to Dating Someone You Met on the Internet” by Stephanie Christensen. Julieta went on to team with sophomore Blanca Sartillo Mejia in varsity Duo Interpretation where they reached semifinals. Senior and team captain Joshua Hansen came away with a championship in varsity Congressional Debate. Junior Will Aepli followed close behind finishing in 2nd, while junior Carter Worcester brought home 5th. Sophomore Bohdan Barnett narrowly missed the semifinal round of varsity Informative Speaking. Senior and team captain Preston Harmon also missed out on the semifinals in varsity Extemporaneous Speaking. “This is a tournament where students need to execute nearly flawless performances to break out of preliminary rounds,” said Londe Gagnon. “Everyone on our team benefited from facing the depth of competition present in Cheyenne. Because this was a Tournament of Champions qualifying tournament, the caliber of students present was very high. We are very excited for the growth our team continues to show and all the accomplishments they have made so far.” The team will compete next at a tournament hosted by Thunder Basin in Gillette on January 8-9 where all students will compete in the varsity category of events.
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