By Julie Johansen and Traci Bishop
The Emery High debate team won first-place honors at the Region 12 Debate Tournament held last weekend at Carbon High School. Emery joined teams representing Carbon, Juab and more.
Besides earning first place, the Spartans also received 12 medals. Those receiving the honors were Alexander Frederick and Haylie McArthur with first in Policy Debate. Second place went to Kallee Lake and Tyler Frandsen. In the Lincoln Douglas Debate, Deri Thatcher won first place.
In Public Forum, the third-place team was Kelsey Jorgensen and Jorgen Robinson with Cache Allred and Macie McArthur in fifth. First place in Foreign Debate was captured by Zane Perea, second place went to Tyler Frandsen and fourth place was earned by Jorgen Robinson.
In National Extemp, Alexander Frederick was third and Kallee Lake took fourth. First place in Impromptu Speaking was won by Haylie McArthur, second place went to Isabella Turner and Megan Bass finished in fifth. Kelsey Jorgensen took third in Informative Speaking and Haylie McArthur was fifth in Original Oratory.
Carbon High School students were also recognized for their hard work during the competition, with instructor Brianna Manning praising the Dinos for their accomplishments.
In Combined Interpretation, Emma Holm received fifth place and Rachel Blackburn placed third. In Informative Speaking, Blackburn placed fifth while Gary Warner earned first place. For Original Oratory, Holm took fourth place and Andrus Daniel came in at second.
In National Extemporaneous Speaking, Maddie Criddle was successful in earning first place. In Public Forum Debate, Fortune Ward and Blackburn took fourth place.
In the Lincoln Douglas Debate, Warner placed fifth, Kei Stockdale placed fourth and Daniel placed second. In Policy Debate, Journey Kerby and Holm took third place. Finally, in Student Congress, Criddle took second place.
“We would like to congratulate our Dino debate team for competing at region this weekend,” Manning shared. “The team, as a whole, tied for second place with Canyon View High School. Way to go, Dinos!”
Those receiving medals will now compete at the state meet on March 17 at Ogden High School. Spartans Zane Perea and Haylie McArthur have participated for four years in debate, and received gold medals in main events. This was their fourth region tournament and will be their fourth state competition.
