Havre debater just misses top spot at Laurel invitational

Press release

The Havre High School speech and debate team again did well in this year's format of online tournaments, with senior LillieAnn Mecklenburg just missing the top spot in Lincoln-Douglas debate.

Mecklenburg was the only one of 26 LD debaters to go undefeated in the four preliminary rounds, and didn't lose a single ballot until finals. Mecklenburg won a 3-0 decision in semifinals against a Frenchtown debater before losing on a split decision to a Columbia Falls debater in finals and ending in second place.

"Lillie has been working hard all season, and it almost took her to first place this tournament," head coach Tim Leeds said. "I expect her to continue to excel all the way to state and at national qualifiers.

"All of our competitors did well," Leeds added. "They won rounds against tough competition and received some very strong comments from the judges."

Sophomore Mackenzie Kuhn lost a debate against a Frenchtown Lincoln-Douglas debate competitor the first round, then came back with wins against debaters from Billings Central and Laurel before losing a close fourth round against another Frenchtown debater and ending with a 2-2 record.

Paige Bertelsen, also a sophomore, lost a tough match against a Stevensville LD debater, then ended up with a bye second round and losing debates against competitors from Frenchtown and Polson to end with a 1-3 record.

Seniors Joram Randolph and Sean Borrero went 1-3 in their first tournament competing together in public forum debate. The team won a tough match against a Stevensville team then lost close decisions against teams from Laurel, Frenchtown and Polson.

The Laurel invitational was the second Class A online tournament of the season. It saw 222 competitors from 19 Class A schools, including the Havre squad, compete Friday and Saturday.

Havre is hosting the third Class A online tournament Friday and Saturday.