Glacier and Flathead high schools placed second and third, respectively, at a weekend speech and debate tournament in Great Falls. 

With 129 points, Glacier finished well behind the first-place team, Bozeman, which scored 264 points, while managing to hold off Flathead's 112 points. 

The tournament, which featured 18 schools, included all 16 teams from Class AA, making for an especially competitive field, Glacier head coach Greg Adkins said. 

"Bozeman clearly set the tone as the team to beat this year," Adkins said. "We need to figure out how to stay consistent across the two-day format. We were up and down and didn’t have the depth or balance needed to challenge them fully."   

Despite the challenges, Adkins expressed excitement about the Wolfpack’s individual successes, particularly in dramatic interpretation and memorized public address.  

“I’m really proud of our dramatic [interpretation] squad, which had three students in the top four, including champion Autumn Bashera,” he said. “We also took the top two spots in memorized public address with Josh Lee and Myla Lamson, plus a fifth-place finish. It shows what we’re capable of. Now we need to figure out how to replicate that success across all events.” 

The next competition for the Flathead County teams will be the Western Regionals Dec. 5 and 6 in Kalispell 

Following are local individual results. 

Varsity Policy Debate 

5. Cayden Porter and Mikayla King, Flathead 

7. Lillie Groom and Kyra Russell, Glacier 

Novice Policy Debate 

6. Peyton McCoy and Sam Burns, Glacier 

Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate 

7. Noah Elliot, Glacier 

Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate 

8. Madelynn Danford, Flathead 

Public Forum Debate 

4. Abigail O'Connell and Garrison Burger, Flathead 

7. Keegan West and Sarah Loran, Flathead 

Legislative Debate 

3. B Poitra, Flathead,  

4. Teyvia Davis, Flathead 

Impromptu Speaking 

1. Jake Milone, Flathead 

2. Gabe Stordahl, Bozeman 

5. Christopher Clostio, Flathead 

7. Cheyann Kaesteleyn, Flathead 

Extemporaneous Speaking 

4. Jake Milone, Flathead 

5. Josh Lee, Glacier 

6. Fenton Liebe-Cohen, Flathead 

8. Dalton Howser, Flathead 

Program Oral Interpretation 

1. Layna Astley, Flathead 

3. Daniel Cole, Glacier 

5. Sophie Johnson, Glacier  

6. Myla Lamson, Glacier 

Duo Interpretation 

1. Szonja Czinner and Maxwell Jones, Flathead 

2. Lincoln McElwain and Layna Astley, Flathead 

3. Trevor Hammer and Megan Mikelson, Glacier 

4. Sophie Johnson and Kaylin Stein, Glacier 

7. Jaydon Pesola and Jasper Wilde, Flathead 

Humorous Interpretation 

4. Maxwell Jones, Flathead  

5. Bridget Reed, Glacier 

Dramatic Interpretation 

1. Autumn Bashara, Glacier 

3. Alex Carmalt, Glacier  

4. Megan Mikelson, Glacier 

Original Oratory 

4. Raya Gronley, Glacier 

Informative Speaking 

4. Parker Scherer, Glacier  

6. Eli Strutz, Glacier 

7. Annabelle Church, Glacier 

8. Adie Fedor, Flathead 

Memorized Public Address 

1. Josh Lee, Glacier  

2. Myla Lamson, Glacier 

5. Raya Gronley, Glacier 

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or [email protected].