For the second year in a row, the Great Bend High School debaters are headed back to state. The Panthers were runner-up to Maize High School in the 5A, 4-Speaker Regional Competition last Saturday, Dec. 17. At the tournament hosted by Salina South, the Panthers secured a win-loss record of seven wins and one loss.
At an ordinary, 2-speaker debate tournament, two partners will rotate between being on the affirmative and negative sides of an issue. At a 4-speaker, however, the format changes. At the 4-speaker competition, a school is represented by two partnerships that will each debate one side (either affirmative or negative) the entire tournament. Senior debaters Adeline Dougherty and Xanna Smith represented the Panthers on the affirmative and were undefeated. Junior Thomas Henrikson and senior Maddix Pokorski partnered to debate the negative side. Seniors Alondra Alvarez and Gavin Hirsh served as alternates.
“We led the whole tournament and were undefeated going into the last round," said Panther coach Kim Heath. "Maize High’s only loss at the time was to Dougherty and Smith, but everyone knew they were ahead of us on tie-breaking points. We pretty much knew that Pokorski and Henrikson had to win the last round against Maize." Unfortunately, that did not happen. Maize also finished the tournament with seven wins and one loss. GBHS was named runner-up after the tie-breakers. Goddard-Eisenhower placed third.
This dynamic of always being on the same side of the issue makes preparation for that one side much more intense leading up to the tournament. The team dynamic of 4-speaker makes it more of a whole squad event because the school’s success relies on everyone competing well. The entire Great Bend Panther team assisted in research, argument development, and practice to prepare for Regionals.
Panther Debaters Aliyah Fryberger and Chrisangel Adame also completed the requirements to qualify for KSHSAA 2-Speaker State and will compete alongside the 4-speaker team. Both 5A KSHAA championship events will be held at Washburn Rural on Jan. 13 and 14, 2023.
The KSHAA tournament is not the only post-season debate tournament in January. Dougherty, Smith, Henrikson and Pokorski also qualified for the Kansas Debate Classic held on Jan. 6 and 7, at Wichita Southeast High School. This event celebrates traditional Kansas high school debate by crowning a policy debate champion across all classifications. That same weekend, the novice teams of Rhys Froetschner and Quinton Heath, and Ellie Damm and Hannah Hopkins will represent GBHS in the Sunflower Novice State Championship.