Cats cruise to victory in speech, debate

The Columbia Falls speech and debate team dominated its home meet Jan. 5, outpacing Stevensville, 137-34. Hamilton took third with 24 points, and Loyola Scared Heart was first in Class B with 112 points.

The Wildcats had first-place finishes from Breanna Friar in memorized public address, Mason Gedlaman in humorous oral interpretation and in impromptu speaking, Baylee Brinton in expository and Meredith Stolte in original oratory.

“We had fantastic support from the community with local supporters filling about 300 judging slots,” coach Tara Norick said. “There was tough competition with schools from the northwest, southwest, and north divisions just three weeks ahead of the state tournament.”

The Cats will travel to Bozeman this weekend for a matchup against Class AA schools.

Remaining Columbia

Falls results:

Memorized public address

5th - Alex Damon

Humorous oral interpretation

6th Lexi Corbett

Expository speaking

3rd Yeo Chung

4th Samantha Gilk

Original oratory

5th - Mary Gross

7th - Casey Shea

Impromptu speaking

5th - Blake Ladenburg

8th - Henry Chisholm

Extemporaneous speaking

3rd - Blake Ladenburg

4th - Mary Gross

9th - Henry Chisholm

Serious oral interpretation

2nd - Meredith Stolte

9th - Britney Cotton

10th - Bailey Duke

Policy debate

2nd - Erick Franklund and Colter Norick

4th - Emily Getts and Maddie Mantell

8th - Mara Barnes and Moenique Schoech

Lincoln-Douglas debate

4th - Allison Foust

5th - Kaitlin Barnes

7th - Ada Brooks