Making it to the top three at the Class A speech and debate state tournament this weekend may come down to the wire for Columbia Falls and Whitefish high schools based on the results of the Jan. 23-24 divisional tournament. 

Whitefish squeaked past Columbia Falls, winning the Western A Divisional tournament by two points overall, 224 to 222. Whitefish head coach Sara Mueller said the finish shows how tightly matched the two Flathead Valley teams are. Hamilton finished third. 

“We were really pushed to our limits at the divisional tournament this weekend by a very talented Columbia Falls team. We are excited to bring home five event divisional championships, including a 1-2 finish in Original Oratory and top three sweep in Public Forum Debate, which helped keep things close,” Mueller said. 

Columbia Falls head coach Dawn Wheeler noted the effort put in by her team heading up to the tournament.  

"The team worked tirelessly last week, while also taking their final exams.  Their hard work was reflected in the narrowing of the point spread from the Bigfork tournament the week before,” Wheeler said.   

The divisional tournament determines who will compete at state with the top 12 in each event advancing.  

“We expect to need every minute of practice and focus throughout the week and need to show our best every round in Corvallis this weekend,” she said. 

“While Whitefish has finished the season strong, we feel good about our ability to perform well in longer, two-day tournaments, which is the format we will face at state. This week we will sharpen our focus to polish pieces and refine debate cases ...” she added. 

The Class A state tournament will be held Friday and Saturday in Corvallis and will include teams from the eastern division. 

“The addition of eastern division teams like Laurel and East Helena does add a new challenge as we have had limited opportunities to compete against them," Wheeler said. 

The following are local individual results from divisionals: 

Policy Debate   

1. Cheyanne Dear-Ruel and Kendal Moultray, Columbia Falls  

2. Megan Day and Lily Aveson, Columbia Falls  

3. Bjorn Bungener and Cohen Gates, Whitefish  

5. Phebe Smiley and Bailey Combs, Columbia Falls

6. Annika Alevizos and Zooey Alevizos, Whitefish

7. Andrew Gibbs and Ozel Peters, Whitefish 

Public Forum Debate  

1. David Losee and Avery Sorensen, Whitefish

2. Shailey Green and Avery McPherson, Whitefish

3. Marcus Mercer and Gracie Sliman, Whitefish

4. Malakai Shaw and Chloe Kinsella, Columbia Falls

5. Logan Emerson and Sage Petioni, Columbia Falls

7. Keian Moran and Josie Carlburg, Columbia Falls

Lincoln-Douglas Debate 

3. Kaya Naumovich, Whitefish

4. Sage Delaloye, Whitefish

6. Ana Alevizos, Whitefish

7. Loren Connors, Columbia Falls

Other qualifiers: Josie Ekholt, Columbia Falls

Extemporaneous Speaking

1. Mason Loeffler, Whitefish

3. Greyson Pfeifle, Columbia Falls

4. Logan Covey, Whitefish

6. Merrick Fairchild, Columbia Falls

8. Fawkes Flaherty, Whitefish

Other qualifiers: Jay Carlin, Columbia Falls; Triston Feller, Bigfork 

Impromptu Speaking

1. Astir Pulsifer, Whitefish

4. Eleanor Smiley, Columbia Falls

5. Sierra Gibb, Whitefish

6. Kira Shanks, Columbia Falls

7. Abby Lawhead, Columbia Falls

Other qualifiers: Sam Keim, Whitefish

Informative Speaking

1. Eleanor Smiley, Columbia Falls

5. Greyson Pfeifle, Columbia Falls

7. Ella Siddall-Kim, Whitefish

8. Elizabeth Burton, Columbia Falls

Other qualifiers: Olivia Close, Bigfork

Memorized Public Address

1. Unity Loveless, Whitefish

2. Merell Cooley, Columbia Falls

5. Mason Loeffler, Whitefish

6. Logan Covey, Whitefish

8. Olivia Lawson, Columbia Falls

Other qualifiers: Jay Carlin, Columbia Falls

Original Oratory

1. Astir Pulsifer, Whitefish

2. Meghan Amick, Whitefish

3. Madeline Pomeroy, Bigfork

5. Abby Lawhead, Columbia Falls

Other qualifiers: Merell Cooley, Columbia Falls and Margaret Leipzig, Whitefish 

Dramatic Interpretation

1. Kory Moran, Columbia Falls

2. Tia Marie Poor, Columbia Falls

3. Aiden Cubbage, Whitefish

5. Von Blanchard, Columbia Falls

6. Rylee Wood, Bigfork

Humorous Interpretation

1. Brody Henion, Bigfork

2. Tia Marie Poor, Columbia Falls

3. Jake Baldi, Bigfork

4. Brandon Widhalm, Columbia Falls

5. Adrien Sandon-Thompson, Columbia Falls

7. Lillian Nelson, Whitefish

8. Sierra Gibb, Whitefish

Other qualifiers: Riggins Jessop, Bigfork

Duo Interpretation

1. Olivia Close and Jake Baldi, Bigfork

2. Kajsa Mohr and Kory Moran, Columbia Falls

3. Von Blanchard and Von Blanchard, Columbia Falls

4. Scarlet Burke and Unity Loveless, Whitefish

5. Cassidy Krack and Lillian Nelson, Whitefish

7. Adrien Sandon-Thompson and Jacob Osborn, Columbia Falls

8. Meghan Amick and Kaylynn Gates, Whitefish

Other qualifiers: Jake Baldi and Olivia Close, Bigfork; Madeline Pomeroy and Cy Devlin, Bigfork

Program Oral Interpretation 

1. Micah Butler , Bigfork

2. Scarlet Burke, Whitefish

3. Merrick Fairchild, Columbia Falls

4. Aiden Cubbage, Whitefish

8. Charlie Helgeson, Whitefish

Additional qualifiers: Kira Shanks and Callie Williams, Columbia Falls