That’s nine in a row for Columbia Falls and four for Glacier.
The Flathead Valley’s speech and debate dynasties remain firmly intact. Columbia Falls had four champions and 19 all-state placers at the Class A speech and debate final sweeps in Hamilton last weekend. Mark Hader won Humorous Oral Interpretation, Mason Gedlaman won Impromptu and Meredith Stolte and Colter Norick claimed the trophy in Policy Debate, leading the Columbia Falls team to 170 points. Hamilton was second with 127 and Stevensville was third with 82. Whitefish’s Sam Benkelman won the title in Expository Speaking and Whitefish finished in sixth place.
Glacier earned the Class AA four-peat thanks to a dominant all-around showing in the sweepstakes in Kalispell. The team tallied 158.5 points to edge Flathead, 114.5. Bozeman placed third, 95.
Harrison Kauffman won Memorized Public Address, Hannah Halbur won Original Oratory and Jessica Mount won Serious Oral Interpretation. Glacier had 22 members place in the top eight at state.
Flathead’s Ethan Hall won state in Humorous Oral Interpretation and Sarah Ward won Impromptu. Flathead had 22 individuals and pairs place in the top eight.
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