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Grey Ghosts Place Second
Food for Thought. Samantha Stewart (FR) works diligently to cut her drama for speech; an incentive of pizza awaits her completion. Students had to gather text from printed materials to perform at meets.
December 20, 2011
Filed under Activities, News, Top Stories
As a delicate layer of white, glistening snow began to fall to the ground, a trophy fell into the hands of the Greybull High School Speech and Debate team. .
At their first meet, hosted by Thermopolis, the Grey Ghosts placed second in the 1A/2A division, with members Ezra Hanson (SO) placing fifth in Varsity Drama and Samantha Nighswonger (FR) placing third in Novice Drama.
“We didn’t have two of our seniors, so the rest of our team stepped up. That was a strength that we were tentative about. One of our last year’s varsity, who had been a first year student last year, stepped up and won a finals slot, which made me very happy,” said Coach Ted Menke, referring to Ezra Hanson.
“So far, [students are shaping up] pretty well. We have a lot of pieces yet that we haven’t seen in final form, a lot of oratories that are not yet completed, and a lot of material that’s not yet memorized, but it appears to be going the right direction,” said Coach Menke.
While, the team is off to a good start, Coach Menke does warn of, “over-confidence and grades for several people. We need to stay on top of not only the speech part of things, but their continued academic success.”
With their initial triumph, Coach Menke expects the momentum to carry into the rest of the season.
“I expect [this year’s team] to do very well,” said Coach Menke. “If they don’t, I will be severely disappointed. I expect them to be very competitive at state, have several people in finals rounds at districts, and I hope to send at least two to nationals.”
This year’s team has 17 students out. Only five are returning varsity members, but the 12 new members will add to the team’s success.
Returning members are Matthew Dillon (SR), Chandini Dahlberg (SR), Joshua Hopkin (JR), Alicia Shilling (JR), and Ezra Hanson (SO). The new members of this year’s team are Victor De Cabooter (SR), Colt Nicolson (SO), Cesar Garay (SO), Samantha Stewart (FR), Samantha Nighswonger (FR), Nicholas Murdoch (FR), Mackenzie McDonald (FR), Autumn Hopkin (FR), Jacob Gifford (FR), Gerald Fulkerson (FR), Justin Bacus (FR), and Anay Garay (FR).
“I think the numbers are kind of a part of the formula,” said Coach Menke. ”The more successful you are, the more numbers you have. I think it’s part of circular success. The numbers generate more interest, more interest, more dedication, which triggers more success, more success triggers more numbers.”
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