By Tim Leeds
The Havre High School Speech and Debate Team scored 103 points at the Northern Divisional tournament at Fergus High School in Lewistown on Saturday, Jan. 20, to win the Class A sweepstakes competition at the tournament, with Fergus High School taking second and Browning taking third.
The team qualified 23 students in seven events to compete at the Class ABC State Speech and Debate Tournament in Corvallis Friday and Saturday, Jan. 26-27. The top 32 qualifiers in each event, eight from each division, will compete for the state title at the state tournament.
Kevin Shellenberger, who coaches the team with Axel Schmaing and Head Coach Peggy Fink, said the high placing of some of their competitors will help a bit with the first-round seeding at the state tournament.
"We did quite well and are very happy with our prospects for state," he said.
Four members of the team led the competition for Havre, with divisional championships won by Tyrell Lundman in Lincoln-Douglas debate, Matt Welch and Peter Spangelo in team debate and Dallas Crossley in original oratory.
Other state qualifiers were Angela Adams and Sarah Benson, second in team debate; Rami Cox and Jenn Williams, third in team debate; Jayson Nissen, second in Lincoln-Douglas debate; Shawn McLain, fifth in Lincoln-Douglas debate; Andrew Edwards, third in extemporaneous speaking; Chauncey Parker, fifth in extemporaneous speaking; Jen Flesche, eighth in extemporaneous speaking; Ross Coons, sixth in memorized public address; Steve Borlaug, second in impromptu speaking; David Chambers, seventh in impromptu speaking; Matt Wagner, eighth in impromptu speaking; Michele Holden, seventh in humorous oral interpretation of literature; Gina Williams, fourth in serious oral interpretation of literature; Adria Antonioli, eighth in serious oral interpretation of literature.
Havre's competitors are scheduled to leave for the state tournament at 8 a.m. Thursday. Shellenberger said they plan to leave Corvallis Saturday evening after the awards ceremony, probably arriving back in Havre very early Sunday morning.
Other area schools placing in the sweepstakes competitions were Blue Sky, first in Class C speech; Big Sandy, second in Class C speech and third in drama; Joplin-Inverness, third in speech, and Kremlin Gildford, second in drama.
