Craig Daily Press / Nearing the road’s end

Speech and debate team to try for national slots at upcoming event

Moffat County High School speech and debate coach Eric Hansen helps students prepare Tuesday for the national qualifier this weekend in Fort Collins. Twenty-three students are making the trip. Enlarge photo — Photo by Hans Hallgren

By Bridget Manley

March 27, 2008

• Fourteen Moffat County High School speech and debate members attended a state competition March 14 and 15 at Parker, where they competed against 35 teams.

• Six of the 14 students placed in the top 12; four of those six students placed in the top five.

• Juniors Michael Zehner and Gavin Thompson took third place overall in policy debate.

• Brodie Schulze and Greg Blackstun took fifth place in policy debate.

• Both Jason Steed and Curtis Lorio placed 11th their events, extemporaneous speech and poetry, respectively.

• When the team went to state in 2007, 10th place was the highest accolade brought home from any event.

Craig — As the Moffat County High School speech and debate season nears a close, coach Eric Hansen pauses at his desk and takes a breath.

“Right about this time every year, I get pretty tired,” he said, wearing a weary smile.

It’s 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. The last school bell has rung, and many students have long since spilled out of the high school’s front doors.

But, Hansen and a number of his speech team members are staying after hours to prepare for a national qualifying event this weekend.

For some team members, it could be the last time this year they stay behind.

On Friday, the team leaves for another competition in Fort Collins, where its members will attempt to qualify for the 2008 Desert Lights Nationals competition in Las Vegas in June.

Unlike some high school club members, speech team competitors can’t qualify for the national competition at state, Hansen said. Instead, they must travel to one more meet, where competitors will pit their skills against other teams.

The contest takes the students out of the Colorado High School Activities Association’s familiar domain and makes them compete in the National Forensic League, assistant coach Amber Clark said.

Michael Zehner and Gavin Thompson, who took third place overall in policy debate at the state competition earlier this month, are among 23 students traveling to Fort Collins on Friday.

It’s the last chance the two, along with their peers, will have to qualify for the national competition in Las Vegas. And, if they don’t make it, this weekend will be the last time they compete this year.

But, Thompson and Zehner said that, with a little tweaking, their debates may earn them that trip to Las Vegas this summer.

“We just need to improve a little bit, and we’re going to nationals,” Zehner said, pausing before adding, “hopefully.”

That journey already is guaranteed for Greg Blackstun, who qualified for nationals at a speech competition in February.

While he waits for the national competition, Hansen said he is ready for a respite from speech and debate — an extracurricular event that spans the winter sports season and extends into the spring.

But, that doesn’t mean he won’t miss speech and debate until it begins again next year, he said.

“This weekend is pretty much it,” Hansen said.