The Jackson Hole High School Speech and Debate Team added a 2nd place sweepstakes trophy to their successful 2020-21 season at the Star Valley Cyberspace Odyssey Tournament, hosted by Star Valley High School January 22-23. Coached by Londe Gagnon and Peggy Gagnon, the Jackson team landed 20 contestants in the finals and placed 8 in the semifinals. Overall, Jackson finished in second in the 4A sweepstakes with 63 team points compared to first place finisher Thunder Basin who earned 71 points.
For the second weekend in a row, the JHHS Public Forum Debate teams dominated, closing out semifinals of the event with a 1-2-3-4 finish to lock up the event. Seniors and team captains Josh Hansen and Preston Harmon, juniors Lily Briggs and Will Aepli, Sarah Schweitzer and Carter Worcester, and sophomores Jheili Montiel Huerta and Alexis Hernandez, all tied for first place in the event.
In Congressional Debate, Aepli and Hansen duplicated their 1st and 2nd place finishes, respectively, for the second weekend in a row. Worcester placed 4th in that event, followed by Briggs in 6th. Sophomore Sophie Lamb rounded out the top finishes in the event by placing 8th. Lamb also went on to finish in 6th place in Lincoln-Douglas Debate.
Sophomore Blanca Sartillo topped the field in Poetry Interpretation, where she reached semi-finals. Sartillo also teamed up with fellow sophomore Julieta Anaya for a 3rd place finish in Duo Interpretation.
The Jackson team next competes at the Mustang Classic hosted by Natrona County High School this coming weekend.
The team is planning its own virtual invitational tournament scheduled for Feb 1-6, 2021.
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