On Saturday, January 19, Fossil Ridge High School’s Forensics team competed in the 2019 Rocky Mountain High School Lobo Howl competition. The competitors mainly had three or four rounds of competition, then, depending on their results, they would go to the finals round. There were two separate waves of competition, Waves A and B. Most students double entered into the Waves and spent most of their day talking, up to twelve hours. Some entered into only one wave and were able to take a break and prepare themselves for their next debate or work on homework. This year’s Public Forum question was whether the United States should or should not provide military aid to authoritarian regimes.

Robert Jackson, the faculty sponsor of Forensics, said, “it is similar to a track meet, where everybody competes individually but we all have the same team spirit.” The members compete in competitions like one-on-one debates, interpretation, and congressional debate. “It is all relying on your skill with your voice, face, or postures,” stated Jackson. With congressional debate, students discuss real-life laws that they believe should or should not exist. Interpretation is similar to acting, but they do not receive costumes or props to back their point.

Connor Tyree has been a part of Debate since middle school, where he saw a poster about the team and decided to join. “I am looking forward to gaining more experience and going against more difficult opponents, I’m excited to have harder competition,” said Tyree. Maddie Fink was excited to compete and gain more experience within Forensics, along with getting feedback from judges. Fink has also been in Debate since middle school, taking the opportunity to go to a meeting, and from there, she found it quite fun. “What really motivates me to do my best is my team,” said Fink.

Tyree finished fourth in a field of about sixty-five students as a result of a tie, as four other students were 4-0 in debate. Melanie Smith finished first in the Congress Chamber, being in the top three of that field, out of 105 students. Olivia Wang placed second in all three of her rounds, but sadly a rare tie breaker kept her from the final one. Ethan Sherman was also kept from the final round because of a tiebreaker, although he placed second in almost all of his rooms. Josh Mayer and Noah Chavez both finished first in round one competitions but did not break into finals. Chavez, Mayer, and Sherman placed in the top twenty out of sixty-two students during the Extemporaneous Speaking event.

Congratulations to the Forensics team for their strong showing at the Lobo Howl. Good luck at your next debate, Sabercats.