Bigfork sends big team to Class B state tourney

Members of the Bigfork High School Speech and Debate team are looking to give their all today and Saturday at the state meet in Ennis.

This season was once again a tough one with Class B Bigfork going primarily against Western Class A schools, Bigfork Head Coach Charlie Appleby said.

“Overall this season we were second or third in speech at every meet,” Appleby said. “Our two biggest Class B competitors were Ronan and Loyola and they beat us up a bit during the season. In drama we fought mostly against Class B rival Eureka and finished about even with them, though we edged them out at divisionals by one point.”

Appleby said the team has “stuck with it” and improved over the season. The goal at state is to get seniors to finals and underclassmen to semifinals to gain experience.

The team’s strength this year is in numbers Appleby said.

“We have 14 speech kids qualified and seven in drama. For us, that is a very big team. I don’t know if that will translate to success overall, but it bodes well for the future of our team,” Appleby said.

Appleby listed the top competitors going into state:

“Damon Maitland and KC Isaman in Humorous Duo. They were divisional champs and placed first, second or third in every meet they attended this year. Kim McDonald in Pantomime has placed first or second in every meet this year.

“Riley Hoveland MPA [Memorized Public Address] has consistently placed at each meet we attended, took second at divisionals but could do even better at state. Grace Olechowski [Original Oratory] is divisional champ and [has] slowly been moving up the leader board all season. Stacey Poulson, [Dramatic Oral Interpretation] last year’s divisional champ and fifth place at state — took second at divisionals this year, but looks to better that at state.”

Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.