Helena High Forensics

Pictures from the zoo in Wichita. Competition starts tomorrow.

A few pictures from the first couple of days in Wichita, including a focus on the natural wildlife of Kansas.

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The Helena High debate team will be traveling to nationals again. Three seniors, Lindsay Johnson, Pat McCue, and Sean Dennison, qualified this weekend at the National Forensics League district qualifier in Missoula. Junior Brittany Buchholz is the alternate to attend. This marks the sixth consecutive year that Helena High has qualified debaters for the prestigious national tournament.

Johnson qualified with a record of seven wins and one loss against the top Lincoln Douglas debaters in the state, while Buchholz was leading the tournament, without a loss, for much of the competition. Unfortunately, the two were scheduled to debate against each other for the qualifying spot, and Buchholz deferred to Johnson. “It was a really hard spot for Lindsay and Brittany,” said coach Don Pogreba. “Each had their best tournament of the year and deserved to go. I’m so proud of the way they debated and acted in such a tough spot.”

McCue and Dennison qualified in policy debate, after narrowly missing a state championship at the preceding tournament. They compiled a record of six wins and one loss, narrowly defeating their rivals from Bozeman in the final round to qualify.

The national tournament will be held in Wichita, Kansas on June 17-22.

The Helena High Speech and Debate ended the regular season on a strong note, placing 6th overall and 1st in debate sweepstakes at the AA State Speech and Debate meet in Kalispell.

The team was led by seniors Audrey Dufrechou and Tiphani Lynn, who placed first in policy debate after an undefeated tournament. Dufrechou won policy debate at the state tournament last year, making her the first repeat champion in 15 years. Seniors Sean Dennison and Pat McCue placed third, and Joel Wilson and Anne Runkel reached the octafinal round.

In Lincoln Douglas debate, Lindsay Johnson placed 6th, while Greg Eliason reached octafinals.

Coach Don Pogreba, who was nominated as a finalist for AA Coach of the Year called the debate team’s success “the result of a real sense of team unity and effort the last two weeks of the season.”

In speech, Keegan Boyar and Hannah Schweitzer reached semifinals.

Read more about Dufrechou and Lynn at the IR

The Helena High debate team had a strong showing at the Butte Bulldog Invitational January 12^th and 13th, placing first among all AA schools in debate sweepstakes, while finishing 6^th overall as a team.

The policy debate squad was led by Emma Hill and Kate Dramstad, who won the novice policy division for the second weekend in a row. Alexis Graman and Kieran Burkholder placed 4^th in novice policy. The varsity policy team of Audrey Dufrechou and Pat McCue placed ninth, with Sean Dennison and Bridger Bukantis placing 10^th.

The Lincoln Douglas debate squad also had an excellent showing, led by Joel Tatz-Morey, who placed third in novice and Lindsay Johnson, who placed fourth in varsity. Loran Brooks placed 7^th in novice.

Hannah Schweizter, Keegan Boyar, and Kara Krantz reached semifinals in speech.

The team travels to Kalispell in two weeks for the AA State Tournament.

Led by the efforts of novice policy debaters Emma Hill and Kate Dramstad, and novice Lincoln Douglas debater Joel Tatz-Morey, the Helena High School speech and debate team had another strong showing at the Conway Classic, hosted by Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, this past weekend.

Senior Emma Hill and junior Kate Dramstad defeated a field of 46 teams from five states to capture the novice debate win, their first tournament win of the season. Hill and Dramstad had to endure impressive opposition and an incredibly long day Saturday, winning their final round after 1:30 a.m. Sunday, against St. Georges School from Spokane in a unanimous decision.

Joel Tatz-Morey also captured his first tournament win, defeating over 35 students to win the novice Lincoln Douglas division. Tatz-Morey was also named the 8th speaker in the division.

“I’m incredibly proud of these debaters,” said Coach Don Pogreba. “They’ve worked so hard this year, and it’s gratifying to see their work pay off at the most competitive tournament of the year.”

Other debaters receiving awards were: Lindsay Johnson, who reached octafinals in varsity Lincoln Douglas, Brittany Buchholz, who reached double octafinals, and Tiphani Lynn, who was named the 8th speaker in a field of nationally competitive varsity policy debaters.

Helena’s speech team also performed well, with third place finishes by Kara Krantz in junior humorous interp and Karla Nettleton in junior oratory. Cody Coella was a finalist in junior oratory as well.

While final sweepstakes results have not been tabulated, Helena High placed second among the Montana schools at the tournament, behind Flathead High School, and ahead of Capital High School.

Competing

Varsity Policy: Tiphani Lynn and Sean Dennison, Audrey Dufrechou and Pat McCue, Joel Wilson and Anne Runkel, Tyler Anfinson and Nick Cohea, Bridger Bukantis and Nick Gengler

Novice Policy: Emma Hill and Kate Dramstad

Varsity LD: Lindsay Johnson, Brittany Buchholz, and Greg Eliason

Novice LD: Joel Tatz-Morey

Speech: Karla Nettleon: OO, Cody Collea: OO, Spencer Clark: EXP, Kara Krantz: HOI

Judges: Don Pogreba, Kris Delaney, Amanda Taylor, Rachael Green, Ross Andre, Acacia Mcguire

Travel Information

You are all excused after 5th period on Thursday, and all day Friday. Please speak to your teachers before leaving. The bus will depart from Helena High at 2:00, and we should arrive in Spokane before 8:00.

The return time is highly variable, between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. on Saturday night-Sunday morning.

Hotel Information

We are staying at the Guesthouse Inn & Suites.

Phone: (509)747-2021

Fax: (509)747-5950

Tournament Information

Debate is going to be rough. There are over 80 teams in a few divisions, and they are only breaking to octas. The speech kids will have a fair amount of free time, so bring some homework. Everyone is expected to be on campus or at the hotel at all times, unless they are given explicit permission by Delaney or Pogreba to leave.

Friday, January 5th

6:30am-7:30am       Registration in The Montana Room (COG)

8am         IE Round 1/Congress Session I

10am       Debate  Round 1

12pm       Debate Round  2

2pm         IE Round 2/Congress Session 2

4pm         Debate Round 3

6pm         IE Round 3/Super Congress Session 1

8pm         Debate Round 4

Saturday, January 6^th

8am         Debate Round 5

9:30am    IE Finals/Super Congress Session 2

11am       Debate Round 6

1pm         IE and Student Congress Awards. Debate Speaker Awards/Teams Clearing

2pm         Debate Octa Finals

4pm         Debate  Quarter Finals

6pm         Debate Semi Finals

8pm         Debate Finals

Departure Time: 10:30 a.m.

Hotel: 

The Heritage Inn
1700 Fox Farm Rd.
406-761-1900

Congratulations to the debate team for its performance at the Carroll College Tournament of Champions this weekend. Competing against the best teams from Montana and Idaho, Helena High placed 2nd in tournament sweepstakes.

Leading the team were the policy team of Anne Runkel and Joel Wilson, who placed 2nd in policy debate, and Lindsay Johnson, who placed 3rd in Lincoln Douglas, as well as taking home the top speaker award. Wilson was also named 3rd speaker at the tournament. Sean Dennison and Tiphani Lynn also placed at the tournament, taking 5th place in varsity policy.

The tournament followed the success of the team at the Montana Model United Nations competition held at the University of Montana November 20-21, where the Helena High group won the Best Delegation Award for small schools. Leading the team were Anne Runkel, Tiphani Lynn, and Laura Evilsizer.

The team will next compete at the Electric City Invitational in Great Falls.

• Jun 18 : Pictures, Day Two
• Jun 17 : Wichita Nationals Pictures
• Mar 10 : Test
• Feb 11 : Three Qualify for Nationals as Season Comes to an End
• Feb 11 : AA State: First in Debate; Dufrechou and Lynn are State Champions