JACKSON, Wyo. — The Jackson Hole High School Speech and Debate Team have been having an impressive 2020-2021 season thus far, competing in the competitive 4A sweepstakes. Under the coaching of Londe Gagnon and Peggy Gagnon, the team has “closed out” semi-finals two weekends in a row, taking first and second place, respectively.
On Jan 15-16, the team competed in the Bobat Invitation, hosted by Hot Springs County High School, where they took first place against 15 schools. The Jackson team finished with 74 points, comfortably ahead of Cheyenne East, the second-place finishers, who took 23 points.
The Jackson team had four teams competing in the Public Forum event: Senior and team captain Josh Hansen and sophomore Ventura Garcia Perez, juniors Lily Briggs and Will Aepli, sophomores Jheili Montiel Huerta and Alexis Hernandez, and finally juniors Sarah Schweitzer and Carter Worcester. The four teams moved through the competition nearly flawlessly and ended up tying for first place, “closing out” the semi-finals of the event. While the Jackson Public Forum Debate squad has been known to close out the finals at competitions in the past, achieving that status before the semi-final round is particularly impressive.
The Jackson Congress squad also continued their success with Will Aepli coming in as the champion in the event. He was followed closely behind by Josh Hansen who took 2nd place, Carter Worcester took 3rd and Lily Briggs finished in 5th.
Jackson performed well in Extemporaneous Speaking as well. Sarah Schweitzer placed 2nd in the event with Montiel Huerta finishing in 3rd place and Alexis Hernandez placing 4th. The event showcases a student’s expertise in current events as they are given a topic and are expected to research and deliver a 7-minute speech within 30 minutes.
On the interpretation side of things, the Jackson team showed great promise in Duo Interpretation. Sophomores Julieta Anaya and Blanca Sartillo Mejia placed 4th in the event. Will Aepli and Josh Hansen teamed up to place 5th. Lily Briggs found success in Program Oral Interpretation where she placed 3rd. Ventura Garcia Perez reached the semi-final round of Poetry Interpretation with his poems about journeys. Freshman Sascha Mizelle placed 6th in Dramatic Interpretation while sophomore Bohdan Barnett finished in 7th place in Informative Speaking with his original presentation on humor.
This past weekend, Jan. 22-23, the team kept the momentum going with a second-place sweepstakes trophy at the Star Valley Cyberspace Odyssey Tournament, hosted by Star Valley High School. The Jackson team had 20 individual finalists and 8 semi-finalists at the tournament. They finished at a close second with 63 team points just behind Thunder Basin who earned 71 points.
The Public Forum teams comprised of Seniors and team captains Josh Hansen and Preston Harmon, juniors Lily Briggs and Will Aepli, Sarah Schweitzer and Carter Worcester, and sophomores Jheili Montiel Huerta and Alexis Hernandez, all tied for first place in the Public Forum event, an unprecedented achievement two weekends in a row.
Will Aepli and Josh Hansen also found themselves in familiar territory in Congressional Debate by duplicating their 1st and 2nd place finishes respectively. Carter Worcester placed 4th in the event followed by Lily Briggs in 6th. Sophomore Sophie Lamb rounded out the top finishes in the event by placing 8th. Sophie Lamb went on to finish in 6th place in LD Debate.
Sophomores Julieta Anaya and Blanca Sartillo teamed up in Duo Interpretation where they brought home 3rd place. Will Aepli and Josh Hansen also teamed up to finish in 6th in the same event. Blanca Sartillo went on to find success in Program Oral Interpretation where she finished in 6th. Lily Briggs finished in 5th in the same event.
Blanca Sartillo also finished at the top of the field in Poetry Interpretation where she reached the semi-finals. Preston Harmon, Sarah Schweitzer, Montiel Huerta, Jackson Neishabouri, and James Neishabouri all reached semi-finals of Extemporaneous Speaking. Sophomore Bohdan Barnett found success in Informative Speaking with his 6th place finish.
The Jackson team next competes at the Mustang Classic hosted by Natrona County High School this coming weekend.
The team is planning its own virtual invitational tournament scheduled for Feb 1-6, 2021. For the home tournament, the Speech Team is in need of about 200 volunteers to judge for approximately an hour and a half each. Judging guidelines will be provided and several practice judging sessions will be offered. Judging experience is not required and since the event is virtual it can be completed from home!
Events include Lincoln Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, Big Questions Debate, Extemporaneous Debate, Congressional Debate, Cross-Examination Debate, Extemporaneous Speaking, Original Oratory, Humor, Drama, Poetry, Program Oral Interpretation, Informative Speaking, Impromptu Speaking, Prose, Editorial Commentary, and Duet. Judging these talented high school competitors is an entertaining and rewarding experience that can be completed from the comfort of your own home.
If you would be able to volunteer anytime please sign up or email coach Londe Gagnon.
