Bobcat speech brings home third

In their second meet of the season, the Hot Springs County High School Speech and Debate team brought home a solid third place finish from the Jackson tournament over the weekend.

The key, of course, is getting speakers into the semi-final and final rounds as that is where team points come into play.

This weekend, all but one of the students made it into semi-finals, and the single competitor who missed semis, Lane Randall, missed it by a single point.

“Its been kind of rough on Lane (Randall),” coach Cindy Glasson said. “He’s putting in the work, he’s getting excellent scores, but for the second tournament in a row he’s missed it by a hair. His time is coming, that’s for sure.”

Ashley Brawley and Katie Burrows went all the way to finals with their duet, “Airline Calamity,” bringing home a pair of third place medals.

“Katie (Burrows) has such an expressive face and the judges were very happy with the way the pair reacted to each other, even when it wasn’t their line.,” Glasson said. “A lot of interpretation comes from the facial expressions and Katie knows how to work that in.”

Tyler Kay was one of three Bobcats who double-entered in the Jackson tournament, doing both drama and POI (programmed oral interpretation).

Although he made semi-finals in both events, he only moved on to finals in POI, bringing home a sixth place.

“Tyler (Kay) is another one of those hard workers,” Glasson said. “He puts everything into what he’s doing and doubling or tripling at a tournament is tough.”

Burrows also doubled with her humor piece, going to semi-finals.

Brawley doubled as well, making it all the way to finals with her drama piece. For her efforts, she brought home a sixth place medal.

Aaron Hanson took on double duty as well, doubling in poetry and drama. He made it to semi-finals with both entries.

“I am looking for Aaron (Hanson) to hit his stride in a few weeks,” Glasson said. “Sometimes it takes a little while to get really comfortable with a piece and he’s discovering little nuances with both of his almost every day. The trick is to then use that understanding to pull your audience in, and he definitely has the knack for that.”

Hannah Hu had an excellent weekend in Jackson, bringing home a fourth place medal with her oratory on censorship. She is currently working on an informative piece that will put her in the doubling catagory with her teammates.

The highlight of the weekend, however, was Breeze Petty, who took second in LD Debate.

“I was thrilled for Breeze (Petty),” Glasson said. “This was her first time making it into semi-finals, so going all the way to finals was huge. Placing in debate as a sophomore is a pretty big deal.

“This is the time of year when illness really hits the team hard, but the seven competitors we were able to field stepped up in an unbelievable way. I would like to say I’m surprised, but honestly, this group of kids is unbelievable in their dedication to their craft.

“I wish the community could see how they encourage not just each other, but their competitors as well, and that’s not always easy. If there was a ‘sportsmanship’ award in speech, I’d be voting for this team.”

The Bobcats will take a weekend off this week while preparing for the Newcastle tournament on Feb. 9-10.