Speech and debate prep for season

Hot Springs County High School’s Speech and Debate team will begin their season with their first meeting on Nov. 1.

Coach Cindy Glasson is joined this year by coach Lyle Wiley, who was the coach in Torrington for several years before coming home to Thermopolis.

“I am super excited to be working with my good friend coach Glasson and this group of talented students,” Wiley said. “I think that we can expect big things from the veterans, and we have some newcomers who have a lot of potential as well. There has been a lot of new member interest, and I think the team is going to have a lot of depth.”

Glasson agreed, saying, “This season looks to be exceptional. All of last year’s team is returning and they have been out recruiting like crazy. The addition of coach Wiley is really a Godsend for me and the team. Its going to allow us to dig deeper into everything from debate to interpretive events.”

The team has been moved down from 3A to 2A this season, but they will still be competing against all the bracket levels.

“We are listed as a 2A team, but when we go to tournaments, we compete against everyone,” Glasson noted. “Our kids will be in a room that may have 4A, 3A and 1A/2A speakers in it and they have to work their way to the top of that pile. With the talent we have, its not unusual to see our kids on the finals stage above some of those 4A competitors.”

“We will be competing in 2A this season, and I think that we have a legitimate shot at a State Championship,” Wiley said. “This team is capable of some amazing things and I feel very blessed to be a part of it all.”

The team’s home tournament will be on Saturday, Dec. 15, and although the students don’t compete in their home tourney, this year it looks to be a bigger tournament than in the past with schools who don’t usually attend putting the Bobcat Invitational on their calendars for this year.

The team’s first competition will be January 11-12 at Kelly Walsh High School in Casper.