The Panther Forensics team has been in action for four weekends and they have four different sweepstakes trophies to show for it.
The season began with a Congress tournament in Newton on Jan. 31. During a Congressional Debate tournament, the students draft bills and resolutions and engage in structured debates using parliamentary procedure to discuss and vote on the proposed laws and policies. Ella Nokes secured 1st place in the novice division for the Panthers. Quinton Heath earned 3rd, Parker Coleman and Steven Guillory both placed 6th, and Zachary Hart achieved 7th in their respective varsity chambers.
The momentum continued with an individual events forensics tournament at South Barber in Kiowa on Feb. 1, where the team clinched 1st place in Sweepstakes. Individual highlights include Kyra Lewis excelling with a 1st place in Extemporaneous Speaking, 3rd in Informative Speaking, and 4th in Original Oration. Kendra Scheideman delivered a stellar performance, clinching 1st place in both Original Oration and Impromptu Speaking, and 2nd in Prose. Other notable achievements include Rhys Froetschner’s 2nd place finishes in both Extemporaneous and Impromptu Speaking, Hunter McClanahan’s 2nd in Informative and 4th in Extemporaneous, and Nokes securing 3rd in Prose and 5th in Impromptu. Kyra Calvert won 5th in Oration and Kaden Taylor brought home 6th in Extemp.
At the Medicine Lodge tournament on Feb. 6, the team earned the 3rd place trophy. Heath stood out with a 2nd place in Serious Solo Acting and 3rd in Prose. Lewis continued her strong performance, earning 3rd in Informative, and 6th in both Extemporaneous and Original Oration. Coleman achieved 5th in Extemporaneous, while McClanahan placed 5th in Serious Solo Acting. The duet acting team made up of sisters Analeah Ochs and Jordan Ochs finished 6th.
The team took a break to host their invitational tournament on Feb. 7 and 8. While the Panthers did not compete during the forensics portion, they did join in during the Congressional Debate. In the varsity Congress chamber, both Coleman and Nokes medaled.
On Feb. 15, the squad was back on the road and split to go to two different tournaments. Three ladies traveled to Maize South. Darcy Feist led with 1st place finishes in both Original Oration and Program Oral Interpretation. Also in Oration, Scheideman placed 4th. In Informative Speaking, Reese King brought home a 5th place medal.
The other Great Bend Panthers team was busy winning 1st place at the Sedgwick tournament on Feb. 15. The duo of Guillory and Heath secured 1st in Duo Interpretation, with Guillory also taking 1st in Informative Speaking. Lewis earned 2nd in Informative and 5th in Original Oration, while Coleman achieved two 2nd place finishes in Informative 10 and International Extemporaneous. The team dominated in Informative with Shannon Robert David winning 4th and Ella Nokes placing 5th. In Extemporaneous Speaking, Mark Sperlein won 5th on the domestic side and Taylor won 5th on the international side. Other wins at Sedgwick included Heath placing 4th in Prose and 6th in Serious Solo, Ailey Williams earning 5th in Humorous Interpretation and Samantha Negaard finishing 7th in both Serious Solo and Impromptu Speaking.
The Dodge City tournament on Feb. 22 concluded the early season with remarkable performances, where the team placed 3rd behind two 6A schools—Garden City and Maize. Coleman secured 1st in International Extemporaneous, 6th in Impromptu, and 8th in Congress. Nokes achieved 1st in the novice Congress, while Hart and Sperlein both earned 3rd medals in their respective chambers. Also in the Novice chamber, Negaard placed 6th. Hart also finished 5th in International Extemp. Feist continued her excellence with 1st in Program Oral Interpretation, 2nd in Original Oration, and 3rd in Impromptu. Also in POI, Kaitlyn Deason was 4th and Taylor was 6th. King dominated Informative Speaking with an overwhelming win while McClanahan finished 4th. King also won 4th place in Oration.
Each 1st or 2nd place individual finish at an invitational tournament qualifies the student in that event for the State Championship tournament. The Panthers have already successfully qualified enough students to have a full entry, and the season has just begun. Great Bend High School will host the KSHSAA 5A State tournament on May 3. This Saturday, March 1 will find the Panthers at the Hays High invitational.
