The Richest Hill on Earth speech and debate tournament proved to be a back-and-forth battle to the end with Flathead High School edging out Bozeman for the win.

Flathead secured the first-place finish with 152.5 overall points to Bozeman’s 147 at the tournament last weekend.

Flathead head coach Shannon O’Donnell described the win as a “happy surprise.”

“By the end of semifinals, we knew we had a shot at finishing in second, but I don't think any of the coaches anticipated a nail-biter race to the finish against Bozeman,” O’Donnell said. “While it's a great moment for our team, we know we still have a long couple of weeks before state and a lot of work to do before then. Bozeman and Glacier will both be formidable when battling for a state title."

Glacier High School placed third with 120.5 at the Jan. 13-14 tournament.

“It just wasn’t our day,” Glacier head coach Greg Adkins said.

“We have to figure out a way to be more balanced at the State AA Tournament in two weeks. I know we are a better team than the way performed,” he said.

The Class AA state tournament will be held at Skyview High School in Billings Jan. 27-28.

Following are individual local results.

Varsity Policy Debate

6 Owen Carpenter and Emma Ferguson-Reiner, Glacier

Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate

3 Gaby Allred, Glacier

6 Kevin Fortin, Glacier

8 Emmary Faerber, Flathead

Public Forum Debate

5 Timmy Glanville and Calvin Schmidt, Glacier

Legislative Debate

1 Aiden DeLong, Flathead

4 Kenna Sandler, Glacier

5 Cadence Murcray, Glacier

8 Lukas Schubert, Glacier

Extemporaneous Speaking

1 Neila Lyngholm, Flathead

6 Rachel Ottman, Flathead

7 Rylin Wilde, Flathead

Impromptu Speaking

1 Rylin Wilde, Flathead

2 Brenna Ernst, Glacier

3 Taylor Pooton, Flathead

4 Rachel Ottman, Flathead

6 Neila Lyngholm, Flathead

Duo Interpretation

2 Jasmine Anderson and Tag Schow, Flathead

3 Adina Lockwood and Dawson Girardot, Flathead

5 B Poitra and Siarah Holden, Flathead

7 Kaelin Holt and Ulrich Warner, Glacier

Humorous Interpretation

1 Adina Lockwood, Flathead

3 Jasmine Anderson, Flathead

6 Miles Kuss, Flathead

Dramatic Interpretation

1 Kaelin Holt, Glacier

4 Brenna Ernst, Glacier

Program Oral Interpretation

1 Ada Milner, Flathead

2 Tag Schow, Flathead

4 Anya Rountree, Glacier

7 Maeve Kintzler, Glacier

Original Oratory

1 Isabella AuClaire, Glacier

3 Mac Adkins, Glacier

4 Luke Banks, Flathead

5 Quindy Gronley, Glacier

Informative Speaking

2 Hailey Hendrickson, Flathead

3 Ellie Fiala, Glacier

7 Sarah Weingart, Glacier

Memorized Public Address

1 Isabella AuClaire, Glacier

3 Ellie Fiala, Glacier

4 Kenna Anderson, Flathead

5 Gabrielle Cantrell-Musson, Glacier

6 Ada Milner, Flathead