Bobcat Speech and Debate team kicks off season at Cody

The Hot Springs Speech and Debate Team completed their first tournament of the season with a 2nd place finish at the inaugural Cody Speech and Debate Novice Tournament held at Cody High School on November 11, 2023. The Bobcats, coached by Lyle Wiley, Alyssa Brown, Grace Martin, and Riley Jeffs, had 9 students competing at the novice tournament, all of whom had impressive first-tournament results.

Freshman Annalyn Sharp finished as the champion in Extemporaneous Speaking in her first formal attempt at the event. Freshman Riley Crowder also found success in Extemporaneous Speaking, finishing sixth overall.

Freshman Autumn Cornwell also earned the title of tournament champion in Dramatic Interpretation for her piece. Cornwell also finished in eighth place in Congressional Debate, the largest event at the tournament. She was followed closely by her teammates, freshman Ayden Coleman-Weisz who finished in ninth place and freshman Tristan Miller who finished in eleventh place. Miller also placed second in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, where he debated the continued extraction of fossil fuels on public lands for energy use.

Freshman Aubriana Layman and freshman Hayden Franklin teamed up in Duo Interpretation, finishing in third place overall. Layman joined Sharp to debate whether the federal government should forgive all student loan debt in Public Forum Debate, finishing fourth in the event as a team. They were followed closely behind by sophomore Lucille Andreen and freshman Jackson Coates, who finished in fifth place.

Coates additionally finished in sixth place with his Humorous Interpretation, while Andreen and Franklin tied for sixth place in Poetry Interpretation.

Varsity students joined the team at the tournament to help novices and judge events. Junior and co-team captain, Rosalie Willson said, "The novices did an amazing job for their first ever competition. It has been so fun to watch them grow." Senior and co-team captain, Chris Bapst, added, "I'm proud of this team and their progress. They handled themselves so well in competition."

In his sixth year of coaching, Lyle Wiley stated about the team, "I'm so excited about our growth and the number of novices who are coming out and giving Speech and Debate a try. Our team strength continues to trend upward, and the success of this small group of novices really demonstrates why we anticipate a great season. Our varsity members were also tremendous leaders for our novices."

The Bobcats will travel to Ethete for the Wyoming Indian Novice Speech and Debate Tournament on November 18.