Four first-place finishes led the way for the Whitefish speech and debate team at the Corvallis Invitational last weekend, earning the team a first-place finish in sweepstakes points. 

Whitefish earned 193 points, followed by Columbia Falls at 173 and Hamilton at 75.

“The win was possible not only because of some stand-out performances from our champions, but also because of depth we have been able to create across the board,” said coach Sara Mueller. “Whitefish held 19 slots in semifinals and advanced 15 of those to finals on the speech side.”

The four tournament championships came from the team of Solomon Zeigert and Julien Leroux in public forum debate, Abbie Belcher in impromptu, Sam Benkelman in original oratory and Zach Ade in memorized public address.

“First time competitors in public forum debate, Solomon Zeigert and Julien Leroux went 6-0 in rounds to claim their championship,” Mueller said. “Powerhouse Abbie Belcher continued what looks to be a phenomenal short prep season with a first and second place finish in impromptu and extemporaneous speaking.”

Mueller said the team had depth in several of the categories. She noted that Whitefish was able to earn the top two places in original oratory and sweep the top three in memorized public address, where four of the eight finalists were Whitefish competitors.

The Bulldogs head to the Kalispell invite Friday and Saturday.

Individual results:

Lincoln-Douglas debate: 4. Dakota Henson

Public forum debate: 1. Solomon Zeigert and Julien Leroux

Extemporaneous: 2. Abbie Belcher, 5. Zach Ade, 6. Makkie Haller

Impromptu: 1. Abbie Belcher, 3. Teigen Tremper, 5. Saige Perchy

Original oratory: 1. Sam Benkelman, 2. Hunter Cripe

Memorized public address: 1. Zach Ade, 2. Austin Reese, 3. Sam Benkelman, 8. Lindsey Matulionis

Expository: 3. Teigen Tremper

Dramatic oral interpretation: 4. Hunter Cripe

Humorous oral interpretation: 8. Saige Perchy