The Class A state title in speech and debate is always a hard-fought battle, and this season promises to be no different.

Teams from the Flathead Valley expect to once again be top contenders for the title, with Columbia Falls and Whitefish high schools leading the pack.

Columbia Falls is the reigning state champion. Whitefish came in second at last year's state tournament.

For most of the season, they will face tough competition from Bigfork, which dropped to a Class B school this year because of declining enrollment but will still compete in tournaments with Class A schools. The three schools will square off against one another Saturday at the Polson Invitational.

Following is a preview of local Class A and B coaches' expectations this season.

Columbia Falls

Columbia Falls is something of a dynasty in Class A speech and debate. The school has won the state title for four years running and eight times in the last decade.

While a fifth-straight state championship certainly wouldn't be disappointing, this year's team isn't solely focused on another title, head coach Michael Christensen said. If his students improve all season and work hard, he said he will be satisfied.

Still, another championship would be nice.

"I did mention to the team at the beginning of the year that if we happen to take state, it will break the record for Class A consecutive state championships," he said. "It's nice that we hold the record, but it would be nice to break it."

Eighty percent of this year's team competed in speech and debate last year, he said. Despite that, this is a rebuilding year in Columbia Falls.

"Every year we go through the same rebuilding process," Christensen said. "Our success isn't based on the same group of kids doing the same thing year in and year out."

While that would undoubtedly make coaches' jobs easier, Christensen said he encourages his team members to try new events. "We have never had a state champion return in the same event," he said. "Where do they go from there except down? We encourage them to accept a new challenge."

Externally, the team's biggest challenges will come from Whitefish and Polson, Christensen said.

"There's some outstanding programs, I think, in our division," he said.

Whitefish

Whitefish High School head coach Pat McLaughlin agreed that her team's toughest competition lives just across the valley, although she suspects schools from farther away also will prove difficult to beat.

"The strongest local [Class] A Northwest competition comes from our Columbia Falls friends," she said. "However, Mike [Christensen] and I know the Southern Division is rumbling and ready."

The Southwest Division includes Hamilton, Corvallis, Dillon and Stevensville.

Whitefish is gearing up to be a tough team this season as well, although McLaughlin declined to share specifics.

"Speech and debate in Whitefish plays its cards close. It's important for our team members to be recognized, but as their coach, I don't want to expose our kids to public scrutiny. I prefer to keep our kids' skills anonymous until we report them after the upcoming ... events."

McLaughlin also said that she would not "assume on our strengths until we are into December."

Most of the team members are seniors, making Whitefish a "mature" team, McLaughlin said. There are a handful of freshmen, one sophomore and a pair of juniors, and the team is constantly recruiting.

The experience will do more than give students a chance to compete for a season, she said. Speech and debate prepares them for life.

"Once our team members have overcome the greatest fear, that of speaking before groups, their skills transfer to success necessities: develop organization, temper control, expand vocabulary and most of all, mature their ability to communicate in a civil manner in a society that highlights failure versus success," she said.

Bigfork

It's Bigfork High School's first year competing as a Class B school, but moving to a smaller division won't affect the stiff competition the team expects to face this season. For most of the regular season, Bigfork will go up against Class A teams from around the region, head coach Charlie Appleby said.

"Northwest [Class] A, they know what they're doing. It will be really nice to be able to go up against some tough competition," he said.

Bigfork's first strictly Class B meet is the divisional tournament at Malta in January, followed by the Class B state tournament in Missoula at Loyola Sacred Heart High School.

Loyola has won the state title for 26 years in a row and could well be the toughest competition Bigfork will face all year, Appleby said.

"We don't expect to beat them, but we do expect to make their lives a little more miserable this year," he said. "Getting second or third in state would be awesome."

This year, Bigfork is "a team in transition," with several students who are new to the program, Appleby said. But every competitor from last year who didn't graduate is back again, providing a solid core of returners to anchor the team.

That includes Kayla Carlson, the reigning Class A state champion in Memorized Public Address. In addition to that event, Appleby said he expects his team to be solid in Expository Speaking, Serious Oral Interpretation and Humorous Oral Interpretation.

Bigfork is the only Flathead Valley school that competes in drama events. Appleby said he expects this to be a rebuilding year for drama; the team lost four of its six Humorous Duo competitors to graduation.

"We'll just see, I guess. I don't know where the newbies will step up," he said.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com