Dawson Sophomores Claim State Public Forum Debate Title

The Alexander Dawson School tandem of Amber Groves (Boulder) and Amanda Hayes (Lafayette) made it two straight state Public Forum Debate titles for the school as the sophomores won that category of the Colorado High School State Activities Association (CHSAA) State Speech Festival in Littleton, Jan. 31.

The back-to-back titles are an admirable accomplishment for the young Dawson program in its third season.

Also for a second straight year, Dawson took three of the top four places in the event, with sophomore Ashton Collins and freshman Emma Griffey finishing third and defending champion senior Graham Smith and sophomore Maddy Peck, fourth. The freshmen team of Bryan Thomson and Forrest Soper finished 12th.

Senior Mer Reed, who earned a superior ribbon in One-on-One Value Debate here a year ago, finished third this year while freshman Evan Cornish was a respectable 12th. Reed also finished 12th in Original Oratory.

Bryan Thomson also received an excellence ribbon in Impromptu for his performance over the two-day festival that included 20-plus schools from around the state.


CHSAA SPEECH STATE FESTIVAL
January 30-31, Heritage High School (Littleton)
Public Forum Debate: 1. Amber Groves/Amanda Hayes; 3. Ashton Collins/Emma Griffey; 4. Graham Smith/Maddy Peck; 12. Bryan Thomson/Forrest Soper.
Impromptu: Bryan Thomson (Excellence Ribbon)
One-on-One Value Debate: 3. Mer Reed; 12. Evan Cornish
Original Oratory: 12. Mer Reed; Robert Knight (Excellence Ribbon)