Talk jocks undefeated

The Saratoga Speech and Debate team is currently undefeated in the 1A/2A category, according to assistant coach Kate Sherrod.

The Panthers had a big meet in Casper last weekend, where they took first place among 1A/2A schools. Jacob Dickinson, Encampment K-12 School senior, took first place in a very large field for his original oratory on the importance of human touch.

According to head coach Jacob Mickelsen, the first place win could be attributed to Dickinson, as the Carbon County School District No. 2 team narrowly beat Greybull by a single point.

Mickelsen added that the rest of the team was not to be outmatched, and the large number of high rankings they received throughout the tournament, which was the biggest of the season, really proved this.

Sherrod said that overall, the younger talk jocks are doing well even though for some it is their first year. The judges are giving them mostly positive remarks and they’re placing higher and higher in the preliminary rounds.

“I’m over the moon,” Sherrod said, even though Dickinson was the only speaker to make it to finals. In smaller meets, more students are making it to finals and semifinals.

The Panthers will head off to Jackson on Friday to compete, which Sherrod said is especially important for the debaters. This invite has become especially important to debaters over the years, according to Sherrod.

In order to prep for the tough debates, the speakers will have to “research, research, research,” as well as spend a lot of time running through speeches at practice. The Panthers are always looking for new ideas and ways to interpret characters and pieces.

Sherrod recognized Jack Patrick for coming to help the speech team practice last week. “He’s a legend,” Sherrod said, acknowledging that he was her coach when she was in school at Saratoga.

The team has been receiving assistance from the community to practice, as they find it helpful to have a fresh set of eyes and ears on their pieces. Sherrod encourages anyone in the community who may be interested in helping the team prepare for invitationals to make arrangements to come to practice.

“I am continually impressed by all the hard work our competitors put in, and I can’t wait to see how the rest of the season will go,” Mickelsen said.