Grand County High School took fourth place in one of the closest state debate tournaments held in recent years.
Only twelve points separated the teams that placed second through fourth places. Grand County High School placed only two points behind America Leadership Academy in Spanish Fork, which took third and twelve points behind second place finisher Richfield High School.
First place was earned by Maeser Prep in Lindon for the fourth consecutive year.
The state tournament was held March 15 and 16 at Bingham High School in South Jordan. Grand County High School had 17 students qualify for the state tournament.
Maren Larsen took first place in Impromptu. Mary Rice finished second in Extemporaneous Speaking and third place in Lincoln/Douglas Debate. Emilia Cubelos finished third in Spontaneous Argumentation.
Maren Larsen and Nat Smith finished in the top six places for Public Forum. Kris Kemp took sixth place in Spontaneous Argumentation.
Top ten finishers were public forum team members Anna Scherer and Deanna Irvin; Anna Scherer in Impromptu; Stacey Andrus in Lincoln/Douglas Debate; Sarah Quigley and Dexter Sheets in Oratory; Robyn Willschedt and Kris Kemp in Extemporaneous Speaking.
Additional points for the team were earned by Ember Green and Diana Irvin in Congress and Emma Sweeney in Impromptu.
The team was coached by Bryan Boyd, who was assisted by Ryan Hand and Sarah Sidwell. Boyd will be retiring as the debate coach.
“Whoever takes the coaching job will inherit an experienced and competitive team,” Boyd said.
