Ronan speech, debate team takes third at first meet
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Ronan speech and debate team
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STEVENSVILLE – Ronan High School’s speech and debate team kicked off their season on Saturday in Stevensville with a promising start.
Though they only had 15 of their 25 competitors at the meet, the Chiefs and Maidens were able to secure a third-place finish in the Class A Sweepstakes, just four points behind second-place Whitefish.
“Although many teams often run smaller rosters at this first tournament early in the season, we are hoping this is an indicator that even though we are now a class A school, we are still ‘the little team that could,’” coach Stephanie Swigart said.
Senior captain Kelea Ilac started the season off strong, earning a first-place finish in Impromptu Speaking with three first-place designations in preliminary rounds and solid first-place scores from all three of her finals round judges.
This is Ilac’s third year on the team but from the beginning she has shown great skill with her event as well as exceptional team leadership, Swigart said. She finished second at state last year and Ronan has high hopes she’ll have a strong finish again this year.
Junior Jamison Romero also enjoyed great success on Saturday, earning a first-place finish in Humorous Interpretation of Literature with three first-place rankings in preliminary rounds. He also earned a fourth-place finish in Dramatic Interpretation of Literature.
A veteran Humorous Interpretation competitor, Romero is new to the Dramatic Interpretation event this year but still managed to command solid second-place rankings in each of his preliminary rounds. Swigart said he has stepped up this season to carry on the Interpretation legacy that has been Ronan’s strength in past years.
Many returning members performed very well in their events and broke to finals. Sophomore Kyra Waldoch finished in fifth place in Original Oratory, and juniors Kara Holmlund and Aurrora Watkins finished sixth and eighth respectively in Memorized Public Address.
Junior Shelby Lampi finished with a 2-2 record in the highly competitive Lincoln Douglas Debate, finishing in eleventh place overall with the top speaker points in her bracket.
In addition to moving to class A this year, the team is undergoing a host of changes. Fortunately the returning members have been putting in extra effort to mentor new members to make it work. Along with new assistant coach Michelle Mallon, the team has 10 new members, all of whom Swigart believes show great promise.
Ronan’s novices performed much better than anyone could hope for at Stevensville, Swigart said, noting that several earned multiple fourth-place finishes in preliminary rounds.
