The Emery High speech and debate team dominated the competition at the Hurricane tournament over the weekend, collecting 25 medals and a first-place Sweepstakes trophy.
Emery scored 77 points at the event. Richfield finished second with 28 points.
“I am so very happy about this win; it was absolutely fabulous!” said team president Adrienne Carter. “We worked hard and it paid off. We are an awesome team.”
Emery’s first place finishers included: McKahl Johnson (Oratory), Jenny Anderson (Spar), Taylor Weihing (Humorous Interpretation), Taylor Hardmen (Dramatic Interpretation), and Hardmen and Carter (Duo Scenes).
Coach Neal Peacock credited his team’s hard work for the dominant performance.
“We made a goal to come down and win this tournament, and these kids did just that,” Peacock said. “They went above and beyond their set standards and blew everybody else out of the water. Even though it was an unexpected win [from others’ perspectives], Emery was confident and it all paid off.”
The team next travels to Taylorsville to compete in Warrior Wars this weekend.