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Columbia Falls High School senior Emily Getts.
GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
2016
last weekend, the two local teams won six of the 12 individual titles. Bozeman rallied on the sec- ond day in debate events to unseat the defend- ing state champ Flathead. The victory ended Kalispell’s most recent dominating run; either Glacier or Flathead has won the title every year since 2010.
In Class B/C, Bigfork took the most kids to the state tournament in years and came home with a third-place trophy in speech. Over the last  ve years, Bigfork has earned second place twice and third place twice.
“I was incredibly surprised when I moved here from Texas ( ve years ago),” says White-  sh head coach Sara Mueller. “The value that speech has here is really second to none. I have never seen such value. And that’s coming from the Dallas area. I would say it is incredibly unique.”
Dating back to the original team at Flathead County High School in the early 1910s, the local tradition has risen to unprecedented levels.
Flathead has achieved more success than any other Class AA school since state competitions were  rst organized in 1936. The school has won 22 state championships and  nished in the top three at the state meet every year since 1973. Flathead’s program has also consistently been the largest in the state, averaging between 100 and 125 boys and girls who compete among 12 events.
Flathead is ranked 68th in the nation out of 3,200 teams this season, while the  nal stand- ings will settle after other states hold their  nal tournaments. Last year Flathead was ranked 92nd and sent several students, includ- ing Wyatt Dykhuizen, Parker Kouns and Sarah Ward, to compete nationally.
“We’re always looking for that state title,” head coach Shannon O’Donnell says. “You go to the state tournament hoping to bring home the hardware every year. To be in a program where you go and know you’ll bring home  rst, second or third every year is pretty amazing.”
Across town, Glacier is a powerhouse in its own right with 125 or more students partici- pating annually, including several who qual- ify for national competitions. Head coach Greg Adkins, who formerly coached at Flathead, has continued his winning legacy at Glacier, where the Wolfpack have won four championships and placed in the top three every year but once, in 2007, when the school was established. In 2013, Glacier senior Tanner Maroney became the  rst Montana student to go undefeated in
back-to-back seasons and qualify for nationals in four consecutive years.
Adkins, a Flathead graduate who partici- pated in speech and debate as a student from 1985-86, has won more Class AA state titles – 14 – than anyone else as head coach. He will be inducted into the Montana Forensic Educators Association Coaches Hall of Fame this year. He is the eighth local coach to earn the honor.
Their secret is simple, they say. Battling against top competition day after day forces you to learn to survive. And the community’s sup- port is noticeable from the outside looking in.
“I remember we would go to the Kalispell tournament and we would arrive at Flathead High School and there would be a big banner that said, ‘Speech Country.’ That sticks in my mind. How many schools put that in their mar- quees?,” says Matt Stergios, the former head coach and current assistant of the Missoula Loyola program, which won its 33rd Class B title in a row last weekend.
“They really make it a priority in Kalis- pell. I’m blown away by how much the Kalis- pell school system really supports speech and debate. The other thing I’ve noticed and it’s mind blowing — there are 100 or more kids on those teams.”
Stergios credits Adkins, O’Donnell and other longtime coaches, such as Tara Norick at Columbia Falls, for building dynasties through hard work and dedication — the key ingredi- ents to a winning recipe.
“The kids who come in are dedicated and are willing to put in the work,” Norick says. “There is not a di erent breed of student here than at any other high school. It’s all based on hard work. If they’re willing to put the work in, they’re going to continue to improve.”
The success stories are countless — Gla- cier senior Aaron Robinson, White sh senior Abbie Belcher, Flathead’s Sarah Ward — stu- dents  nding their voices and identities through the art of oratory, continuing a legacy unlike any other.
Stories like Getts’.
“It’s people from all areas that come together for this one goal, and you become such a family,” the Columbia Falls senior says.
“You really grow in your assurance of your- self. You learn you’re capable and can do this. You walk into that room with con dence and the judges see that.”
Almost like seeing magic.
dtabish@ atheadbeacon.com
STATE SPEECH AND
DEBATE RESULTS JAN. 29-30
CLASS AA
1. Bozeman, 147; 2. Flathead, 126; 3. Glacier, 116
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
LEGISLATIVE DEBATE: 1. Kyersten Siebenaler, Glacier; 4. Makenna Marvin, Flathead; 5. Will Thompson, Flathead; 6. Tristen Lang, Glacier; 8. Nick Brester, Glacier; POLICY DE- BATE: 5. Liz Stone and Eli Brown, Flathead; 7. Jenna McCrorie and Emma Trunkle, Gla- cier; LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE: 3. Noah Love, Flathead; PUBLIC FORUM DEBATE: 5. Erin McHugh and Maya Buckingham, Glacier; IMPROMPTU SPEAKING: 1. Dylan Crandell, Glacier; 2. Sarah Ward, Flathead; 4. Grace Cady, Flathead; 8. Carolina Sierra, Flathead; EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING: 4. Sarah Ward, Flathead; 6. Carolina Sier- ra, Flathead; DUO INTERPRETATION: 1. Ethan Hall and Edgar Hall, Flathead; 2. Wyatt Dykhuizen and Parker Kouns, Flathead; 5. Abby Van Allen and Brock Adkins, Glacier; HUMOROUS INTERPRETATION: 7. Wyatt Dykhuizen, Flathead; 8. Ethan Hall, Flathead; SERIOUS INTERPRETATION: 2. Mason Devries, Flathead; 4. Hannah Tullett, Glacier; 5. Anika Fritz, Glacier; 7. Renee Barker, Glacier; 8. Maija Hadwin, Flathead; MEMORIZED PUBLIC ADDRESS: 1. Adam Habel, Glacier; 2. Hannah Tullett, Glacier; 3. Abby Van Allen, Glacier; 4. Payton Keltner, Flathead; ORIGINAL ORATORY: 1. Aaron Robinson, Glacier; 2. Brock Adkins, Glacier; 4. Daniel Sierra, Flathead; 6. Maija Hadwin, Flathead; 7. Kate Gi n, Glacier; 8 Rebecca Vance, Flathead; EXPOSITORY SPEAKING: 1. Anika Fritz, Gla- cier; 2. Tristan Phillips, Flathead; 4. Kodee Wagner, Flathead
CLASS A
1. Columbia Falls, 229; 2. White sh, 204; 3. Polson, 83
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
PUBLIC FORUM DEBATE 1. Katelyn Toland and Mollie Lemm, Polson; 2. Anna Nicosia and Mary Ward, Columbia Falls; 5. Bergen Carloss and Kate Ehrenberg, White sh; 7. Cassidy Norick and Kelsey Wright, Columbia Falls; 8. Mike Dittrich and Sarah Posey, Columbia Falls; POLICY DEBATE: 1. Annabelle Smith and Sophia Speckert, Polson; 3. Annabel Conger and Colin Norick, Columbia Falls; 4. Ian Caltabiano and Zach Kas- selder, White sh; 5. Ruth Nelson and Shayne Williams, Columbia Falls; 7. Danielle Schwalk and Ian McKenzie, Columbia Falls; LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE: 1. Dakota Henson, White sh; 3. Kenyon Cairns, Polson; IMPROMPTU SPEAKING: 2. Abbie Belcher, White sh; 3. Ava Chisholm, Columbia Falls; 4. Teigen Tremper, White sh; 5. Geneva des Lions, Polson; 6. Saige Percy, White sh; 7. Tim Ingham, Columbia Falls;
8. Willie Baltz, Columbia Falls; EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING: 2. Abbie Belcher, White sh; 4. Zach Ade, White sh; 6. Danny Mor- gan, Columbia Falls; 7. Tim Ingham, Columbia Falls; 8. Makkie Haller, White sh; ORIGINAL ORATORY: 1. Sam Benkelman, White sh; 2. Chloe Foster, Columbia Falls; 4. Emily Getts, Columbia Falls; 8. Lindsey Matulionis, White-  sh; EXPOSITORY SPEAKING: 1. Emily Getts, Columbia Falls; 2. Teigan Tremper, White sh; 8. Regan Tinzman, White sh; MEM- ORIZED PUBLIC ADDRESS: 1. Sam Benkelman, White sh; 2. Chloe Foster, Columbia Falls; 3. Zach Ade, White sh; 5. Austin Reese, White sh; 6. Joey Chester, Columbia Falls; 7. Emma Erikson, Columbia Falls; HUMOROUS INTER- PRETATION; 1. Ava Chisholm, Columbia Falls; 2. Saige Perchy, White-  sh; 3. Jerelyn Jones, Columbia Falls; 4. Brandon Karberg, Columbia Falls; DRAMATIC INTERPRETATION: 1. Jerelyn Jones, Columbia Falls; 2.
Hunter Cripe, White sh; 5. Jacob Hohman, Columbia Falls
CLASS B/C
1. Missoula Loyola; 2. Ronan; 3. Bigfork
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
ORIGINAL ORATORY: 1. Grace Olechowski, Bigfork; 7. Melody McHaley, Bigfork; MEMORIZED PUBLIC ADDRESS: 3. Riley Hoveland, Bigfork
EXPOSITORY 3. Shannon Frizzell, Bigfork 7. Braeden Tovey, Bigfork DRAMATIC INTERPRETATION 6. Stacey Poulson, Bigfork EXTEMPORANEOUS: 8. Reuben Hubbard, Bigfork
HUMOROUS DUO: 2. Damon Maitland and K.C. Isaman, Bigfork SERIOUS DUO: 8. Ben Johnson and Madigan Kinslow, Bigfork
FEBRUARY 3, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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