Great Bend High School is sending five students to the National Speech and Debate Association’s Tournament this June in Louisville, Kentucky, after winning the West Kansas District National Qualifying Speech Sweepstakes Award this past weekend at Hutchinson High School.
The senior team of Malachi Wasson and Isaiah Smith earned 1st place honors in Duo Interpretation at the district tournament. This is the third year that the pair has qualified for nationals, but it will be the first time for them to compete in person. Junior Alondra Alvarez and sophomore Milena Carbajal took home 2nd in Duo Interpretation for the privilege of traveling to the national tournament this summer.
Both of Great Bend’s qualifiers in Duo Interpretation have enjoyed the event. The students adapted and performed their perspectives on a piece of literature in order to tell a story. Smith and Wasson are performing a cutting from the play “Columbinus” that focuses on the tragedy of school shootings. Alvarez and Carbajal tell the story of the loss of innocence that occurs in the novella “House on Mango Street.” Cutting and piecing together the story they wanted to tell from the vignettes was challenging and rewarding for the teams. In addition, Alvarez and Carbajal each placed 2nd in their other events. Alvarez placed 2nd in Original Oratory and Carbajal finished 2nd in Dramatic Interpretation.
Freshman Darcy Feist also earned a national’s qualification by winning 1st place. Feist will be competing in Oration where she will present a ten-minute original speech entitled, “It’s Time for a Timeout” that she researched and wrote to persuade the audience that children should not be overly involved in travel sports.
Other placings at the district tournament included Maddix Pokorski, 4th place International Extemp; Isaiah Smith, 4th place Informative; and Thomas Henrikson and Eave Taylor, 7th place in Duo Interpretation. Reese King and Xanna Smith also earned points for the Panthers.
“The level of success the team has seen this season has been so rewarding to watch,” Kim Heath, the speech coach at Great Bend High School said. “I am so proud of all of my students for what they have accomplished.”
The road to nationals begins long before the tournament starts in June. The team came together last summer to begin researching for debate. After the state debate tournament in January 2022, they immediately transitioned over to forensics. The team competes three or four times a month, every month for the entire school year.
"These students have worked hard on their performances weekend after weekend. Learning how to persuade judges in the fall formed the foundation for our success in the spring,” Heath shared. “Thanks go out to the parents and community for their continued support of the Great Bend High School Debate and Speech Programs.”