Home tourney helps novice team

Although the varsity Green River High School Speech and Debate team didn’t compete, they were sure busy helping out with the home meet.

On Friday and Saturday members of the varsity team were busy helping run the home tourney, while the novice team was getting another competition under its belt.

Nineteen schools and 297 competitors attended the Green River tournament.

“It was a huge success and we would like to thank the community members that showed up and volunteered their time to help us,” head coach Carina Stulken said. “We would also like to thank the parents and administration of the high school; without them we couldn’t host such a successful event. I am humbled by the amount of genuine and selfless support we receive year after year.”

Rock Springs took first place with 126, Cheyenne East nabbed second with 96 points, Kelly Walsh claimed third with 63 and the Green River High School novice team took fourth with 50 points.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the students on our team; they were so dedicated to making sure that hosting our own tournament went off without a hitch,” Stulken said. “It ran so smoothly that we ended up being 45 minutes ahead of schedule to start the awards ceremony.”

Even though the varsity team did not compete, they still learned a lot.

“It was a great chance for the to see their competition and to show off their high school and community to their competitors,” she said.

With the home tourney over, the team is gearing up for Cheyenne East this weekend. “This is always a brutally tough tournament with many teams from around the country in attendance including schools such as Cherry Creek and Denver East,” Stulken said. “Our kids will have to be on the top of their game to even be competitive in their events. We will be working extra hard this week to prepare for this tournament and hope to see some students place in final rounds.”

Novice team results

Oratory finals: Victoria Allen, third place

Humor finals: Shelbi Jenkins, sixth place, Jesse Lausey, third place

Extemporaneous speaking: Gregory Marchal, second place, Mike Montoya, fifth place

Duet: Karlee cutler/ Lyndi Johnson, first

Drama: Savannah McCauley, fourth

Public forum: Andrew Halverson and Jacob Lock, first place

Cross examination: Victoria Allen/Atlin Johnson, Mylynn Collins/Cassie Newcomb, third-place tie

Gregory Marchal and Patrick Marchal, first place