(Riverton, WY) – It was a strong showing for Fremont County at the State Speech Meet held last weekend in Riverton. Riverton won the Class 3-A division with a sweep in DUO Interpretation. Lander finished third in Class 3-A.
Riverton was paced by a first-place finish from Cody Heard and Lilian Archer in DUO Interpretation, and a state runner-up finish in Humorous Interpretation by Noah Marshall. Marshall teamed up with Kaia Tippets for a second-place finish in DUO Interpretation.
Wolverine senior Carolyn Thornton was the state champion in Drama and placed first in Humorous Interpretation.
Thornton was awarded the Ambassador Award, an honor given to individuals who embody the ideals of speech and debate.
Rounding out the DUO Interpretation sweep were Sam Houtman and Ashtin Griffin in third place.
Kylar Bennett reached the semi-finals in Congressional Debate. Bennet and partner Hunter McOmie were quarter-finalists in Policy debate.
Also competing for Riverton were Wyatt McOmie, Gabe Person, Kalirai Armejo, Caleb Peeks, Catarina Hancock, TJ Hancock, Maile Williams, and Ayana Mejorado.
Riverton assistant coach Becca Pierson was honored as the Class 3-A Coach of the Year.
Lander was led by Josie House who won the Class 3-A title in Poetry and Orator, and Katrina Winn who was first in Program Oral Interpretation.
Kephas Olsson and Clair Lane were second in Public Forum, and Olsson was also runner-up in Congress.
Finn Gebhart was third in Humor, and Felicity Olsson reached the semi-finals in Informative Speaking.
“What a great weekend. Our team worked so hard this season and we had a great time at state. I’m so proud of everything our team has accomplished and all the work that has gone into building a Speech and Debate program our school can be proud of,” Lander speech coach Lannette Lahey said.
Several members of the Riverton Speech Teams that did not compete helped run the three-day tournament. They were Ellinore Peck, Gabby Nguyen, Addison England, Mary Witzel, and Tegan Long.
A final competition, this one a national qualifier is this weekend in Rock Springs.