Speeches, arguments and counter-arguments will take center stage this weekend when Glacier and Flathead high schools compete in the 2014 State AA Speech and Debate Tournament in Kalispell.

Flathead and Glacier have been among the top competitors in Class AA this season — but neither team has been able to beat Bozeman.

“We have much greater numbers and much greater depth than we had before,” Flathead head coach Shannon O’Donnell said.

Glacier is the host school for the Class AA state tournament Friday and Saturday.

Glacier is hungry for a fourth consecutive state title and Flathead is shooting to bring home a state championship — something the school hasn’t done in any sport or activity since 2010. 

To succeed this weekend, however, either Kalispell team will have to overcome powerhouse Bozeman, which has dominated AA competition this season, primarily on the strength of its debaters. 

“Their debate is killer this year and debate is worth more points,” O’Donnell said. “I think this weekend is going to be crazy because literally it could go to any of the three of us.”

As Glacier head coach Greg Adkins put it, “We need to knock out their depth of debate teams to have a legitimate chance at a state title this year.”

If Glacier or Flathead students place in the top four in any category, they could keep Bozeman from scoring points, according to the coaches.

“If we’re going to have a shot at the title we have to really have really solid strong performances in short prep, interp and debate — those are the three places we have a shot in pulling ahead,” O’Donnell said. “The other squads need to hold their own.”

O’Donnell said at this point the state title is anyone’s game.

“Speech feels like watching a pro basketball game because you have to watch the whole game, but really everything happens in the last two minutes. And those last two minutes anything could happen,” O’Donnell said.

“We’ve worked really hard to rebuild the strength of the team,” O’Donnell said. “They’ve been working their tails off. This week I’ve seen a fire in them I haven’t seen all season.”

Flathead’s strengths this season have been in Impromptu Speaking and Extemporaneous Speaking. Both events had the highest-scoring squads on the team.

“We’ve won both Extemporaneous and Impromptu at every tournament this season,” O’Donnell said. “Flathead has dominated this season in short-prep events.”

The short-prep stars include juniors Wyatt McGillen and Eli Cornell, sophomore Sarah Ward and senior Katie Weed.

“Sarah Ward is definitely a favorite going into Impromptu. She definitely has two or three first-place finishes,” O’Donnell said. “When Sarah has not won Impromptu, it’s either been Extemporaneous Speaking has been shared between McGillen and Cornell throughout the season.”

Cornell and McGillen practice together and then compete against each other.

“It’s interesting. We’ve only come to blows once or twice,” Cornell joked during a Jan. 24 practice.

To prepare for state, McGillen said they have extended practices by half an hour or an hour.

“Our short-prep squad is doing phenomenal this year,” McGillen said. “We’ve done a few things right and a few things wrong, but more things right.”

Weed said one of the biggest advantages to having state in Kalispell is the extra sleep gained from not having to travel.

Glacier’s strength all season has been in Memorized Public Address, according to Adkins. Original Oratory is another strong event.

“Last weekend the MPA squad swept the top three slots in Billings while the Oratory squad swept the top slots,” Adkins said. “In addition, sophomore Anika Fritz has two tournament victories this season. The MPA squad is led by juniors Harrison Kauffman, Ben Habel and seniors Hannah Halbur and Jackie Culver.” 

 Four seniors lead a very competitive Oratory squad, led by 2013 State AA champion Teesa Palmatier. 

“Emily Morison and newcomer Rachel Bjork have titles since Christmas and Hannah Halbur has two second-place finishes this month,” Adkins said. 

Habel, a junior at Glacier, will compete in Humorous Oral Interpretation and Memorized Public Address. He has competed in Humorous Oral Interpretation since freshman year, but this is his first season in Memorized Public Address and first time competing at state. 

Habel said Glacier is bringing its “A game.”

“My personal goal is to be a state champion. I have gotten first place in both my events before, so I know I have it in me,” Habel said.  

This has also been a team building year for Glacier, but Habel said he believes the state title is within reach.

“These last two tournaments we have been neck-and-neck with Bozeman. I strongly believe we have what it takes to take home our fourth consecutive state championship.”

This season has been bumpier than past ones, according to Halbur, who said Glacier is ready to put up a strong fight. 

Halbur is competing for the first time at state in both Original Oratory and Memorized Public Address. Her goal this year is to get first place in either event. Halbur said a lot of practice to perfect every detail goes into a state win.

“I love speech,” Halbur said. “Besides the competitive nature of speech, I enjoy using speech as a tool to educate people and open minds to new ideas that could really benefit how we judge people, and their circumstances. I make sure that every time I speak, I speak with a purpose.”

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.