George Washington Wins 5A Speech and Debate State Title for Second-Straight Year

FORT COLLINS – For the two years the overall sweepstakes competition has been contested at Colorado’s Class 5A speech and debate championships, the George Washington team has dominated.

This year, the Patriots set a new standard.

At Fort Collins High School on Saturday night, George Washington won the sweepstakes titles in both speech and debate, leading to a convincing overall sweepstakes win for the Patriots.

“The students just work really hard and they put in a lot of effort, so it’s just really exciting to see,” George Washington coach Maryrose Kohan said. “I think that having a lot of students and over the years having success lead to more success, it shows we have students who are dedicated and committed. We also have a lot of support from the school in terms of having classes and extra time to work with students.

“It’s a really, really important activity and there’s a team element to it now and it’s more on par with sports. It’s also still important and I hope that all the individuals get recognized, because there are some that come from programs that only have five (students) and still do really well.”

In the overall sweepstakes, Cherry Creek was second and Denver East was third. In the speech sweepstakes, Denver East was second and Cherry Creek was third. In the debate sweepstakes, Cherry Creek was second and Pine Creek was third.

In congress, Cherry Creek’s Ariuka Bayasgalan was the winner. In dramatic interpretation, Cherokee Trail’s Sarah Samuel took first place.

For the second year in a row, Denver East’s Elias Goss and Elijah Goss won duo interpretation. In humorous interpretation, George Washington’s Gabriela Fox was crowned champion.

Also for George Washington, Lindsay Sieja won informative speaking. Denver East’s Fiona Macdonald won international extemporaneous speaking.

Cherokee Trail’s Temiloluwa Bello won Lincoln Douglas debate. And in another victory for champion George Washington, Ivan Levitt won original oratory.

Overland’s Hana Kebede won the poetry reading competition.

In policy debate, the George Washington duo of Caroline Maybe and Flynn Good took first place. In program oral interpretation, Rocky Mountain’s Jordan Meyer was the victor.

For public forum debate, Hayden Ferrandino and Reina Kushihashi from Denver School of the Arts were the winners. And in United States extemporaneous speaking, Denver East’s Rae Tatel finished first.