The Panther speech and debate team recently competed at the district tournament at Rock Springs High School. For three days, Wyoming students from across the district competed to find a spot at the National Speech and Debate tournament.

The Powell team emerged with seven national qualifiers and five alternates. Senior Kyra Morrow qualified for the World Schools Debate, US Exempt, and Senate in Congress. Senior Natalie Black qualified for US Extemp. Senior Katerina Reitz and junior LeeAnne Philips qualified for Public Forum debate; Philips also qualified for Big Questions. Junior Taylor Peters qualified for House in Congress, while senior Paige McConnell qualified for dramatic interpretation, and sophomore Chloe Camp qualified for program oral interpretation (POI).

Morrow is the first alternate for Lincoln Douglas debate, Phillips is first alternate for Oratory, Peters is first alternate for US Extemp, senior Justin Dusenberry is second alternate for drama, and senior Curtis Muckee is first alternate for House in Congress and second alternate for POI.

The improvements this team has made during practices leading up to districts have really shown over this season; they have put their dedication into making the perfect speech and case.

“I really worked on blocking,” McConnell said. “I feel like blocking can make or break your piece, and if you don’t have any blocking, you won’t place, so I really worked on that this season.” 

To perform to the best of their abilities at the national tournament, team members have already started preparing their cases and speeches through springboards and mock rounds, giving them an idea on how to sharpen their voice before they compete. 

“I am obviously going to be working to prepare for nationals with springboards, online practices, and practicing with the team,” Morrow said. “I’m also planning on being a part of the Grand Canyon University speech and debate team, and so I’ll go through the process of auditioning for that and practicing with them.”

When it comes to partner events like Public Forum, participants need to have a strong connection with their partners, and this is something that Reitz and Phillips will take into state and at nationals. 

“There are a lot more experienced teams in the state who have been partners for longer,” Phillips said. “But I think Katarina and I have a really strong bond that we don’t necessarily need the experience because we just work really well together.” 

This is Camp’s first year doing speech, and she was astonished that she qualified. 

“I am just so amazed that I broke at all,” Camp said. “Qualifying was such an amazing rush, but at the same time, I didn’t think that I deserved it.”

Members of this team will continue to grow outside of tournaments and nationals, building their public speaking skills and showing their talents beyond speech and debate.

“The biggest thing that I’ll likely use in my real life that I’ve learned from extemp is the ability to research quickly,”  Black said.  “The ability to research quickly and be able to like in just 30 minutes, being able to find out about a topic, research it, learn about it, and then be able to share that information with others, I think that’s a really important skill wherever I go.”