Havre speech team does well at Columbia Falls

Press release

A Havre High School debate team went nearly undefeated to place at a massive tournament in Columbia Falls Saturday.

Juniors Joram Randolph and Noah Teasley lost a round to a Whitefish team first round, then drew a random bye for the second round and proceeded to beat teams from Columbia Falls and Frenchtown to go 3-1 and finish in fifth place.

“I am really proud of Noah and Joram,” head coach Tim Leeds said. “They lost a tough, close debate first round, and if they had won that they probably would have been in finals fighting it out for first place.”

“I am happy with how all of our team did,” Leeds added. “I was hoping for some more in the top eight and even some tournament champions — we had the talent and ability on the bus to do that, and some came really close — but it wasn’t meant to be. Now, we can take what we learned this weekend and keep building toward divisionals and state.”

The small Havre team, depleted with conflicting events and complications, faced 366 students from 21 other schools in Columbia Falls. That included all of the Western class A and some BC schools as well as massive teams from Flathead and Glacier high schools in Kalispell and other Class A and BC schools that also traveled across the Great Divide to compete Saturday.

Havre’s varsity policy debate team of Lillie Mecklenburg, a junior, and Dartanion Kaftan, a sophomore, went 1-3, beating a Glacier High School team, but losing close rounds against other debaters from Frenchtown and Glacier.

First-year Lincoln-Douglas debater Paige Bertelson, a freshman, also went 3-1, beating a debater from Browning but losing rounds against other debaters from Columbia Falls, Glacier and Browning.

Havre’s speech students also did well, including senior Tana Gorecki earning a second place finish in one impromptu speaking round and Angelle Roen, also a senior, taking a second in memorized public address, but they didn’t quite made the cut for their finals round to compete for the top eight positions.

Havre’s other speakers, sophomore Tristan Molyneaux in humorous oral interpretation of literature, fellow sophomore Melanie Veith and senior Alyssa Smith, both competing in informative speaking, took some third- and fourth-place finishes in their rounds but didn’t make it into finals to compete for the top eight places.

“This was really good experience for these kids, and I am happy with how they did,” Leeds said. “We should have our full team back in December, so I am excited to see how we all do then.”

Havre next travels to Fort Benton High School Dec. 7, then to a two-day AA invitational in Great Falls Dec. 13-14. It wraps up with the Choteau High School Frost and Flannel Filibuster tournament Dec. 21 before heading into the Christmas break.