JACKSON HOLE, WYO – National Speech and Debate Association’s National Tournament is the largest academic competition in the world. Last week, more than 4,500 competitors battled it out in 22 different events in Birmingham, Alabama. Five members of the Jackson Hole High School Speech and Debate Team made the trip and more than held their own.
Seniors Kyler Arriola and Mataya Foster joined juniors Ellie Dunn and Aaron Trauner, and along with freshman Maleah Tuttle the fab five represented the Wind River NSDA District at the tournament. It’s the 20th consecutive year the team has qualified at least one student for the big showdown.
Trauner led the way as he has all year with a strong showing in Extemporaneous Debate. It was the tourney’s largest field with 904 entries. In this event, students are assigned an affirmative or negative side to debate, and given a topic only 30 minutes before each round of competition. Trauner fought his way through 11 rounds of competition to place 7th.
Londe Gagnon, who coaches the team with Peggy Gagnon, said, “Aaron’s accomplishment is extremely well deserved. He has shown immense passion for this activity over the past three years. He works hard and loves what he does. To have that pay off for him at the National level is phenomenal. We cannot wait to see what his senior year on the JHHS Speech and Debate team holds for Aaron.”
Arriola performed well in his three events. In Poetry Oral Interpretation he finished with a better record than any other Wyoming competitor. In Poetry Interpretation, Arriola advanced past the first cut with his selection of Shakespeare’s sonnets. He also advanced past the first cut in Storytelling with his retelling of the Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieszka.
Dunn competed solidly in Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking, advancing to round 6 of Extemporaneous Debate. She will join Trauner next year as co-captain of the JHHS team.
Foster partnered with Trauner in Public Forum Debate where the pair competed with nearly 300 other teams. They argued for and against the resolution: “In east Africa, the United States federal government should prioritize its counterterrorism efforts over its humanitarian assistance.” Foster went on to advance past the first cut in Impromptu Speaking.
Tuttle was the first freshman from Jackson to compete at the National tournament in 21 years. She had solid performances in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking, Extemporaneous Commentary, and Impromptu.
“All five competitors represented JHHS well and worked together as a group to advance. Their strength of character, teamwork and solidarity brought out the best in each of them. We, as coaches, could not be more proud.”
Jackson also received special recognition at the awards ceremony as 2017 marks its 30th year qualifying students to the competition.
