Whitefish freshman Elsa Dodds garnered

an individual title for the Bulldog speech and debate team on

Saturday at the Class A state tournament in Laurel. Dodds took

first in Original Oratory.

Six of Whitefish’s eight state

representatives were freshman, including the policy debate team of

Thomas Henson and Ian MacFarlene.

The duo came up short of a state title

but managed to knock off a divisional champion for a good

showing.

Emily Morrison took sixth place in

humorous oral interpretation.

“It’s a good sign for the future of

Whitefish speech and debate,” coach Gary Carmichael said. “They

really learned that they could be successful at state. It was

exciting.”