The Park City High School Speech & Debate team had an outstanding showing at the state tournament this weekend. Although Park City typically competes as a 4A school, the team chose to compete with 5A schools this year and finished with an impressive 122 points, falling just two points short of Skyline in a thrilling finish that came down to the final rounds.

Every member of the team contributed to the overall score.

State Champions:
• Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Alec Lebwohl
• Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking: Alec Lebwohl
• Public Forum Debate (Co-Champions): – Shiva Miner & Sophie Dildy – Kennedy McCarthy & Mia Jamrich Additional

Top Finishes:
• Sammy Vogel – 2nd place, National Extemporaneous Speaking; semifinalist in Lincoln-Douglas Debate
• Anna Kuck – 3rd place, National Extemporaneous Speaking
• Ellen Kuck – 4th place, National Extemporaneous Speaking
• Chloe Sawyer – 3rd place, Informative Speaking (37 competitors)

Students also earned top-quartile finishes and maximum team points in several events, including members of the Congress team (Reese Gunnarson, Timmy Cuneo, Lila Gabbay, and Georgia Littlejohn), Anne Knapp, Shiva Miner, and Grace Gladson & Ellen Kuck.

While the accolades are impressive, the most meaningful outcome of the Speech & Debate program is the development of communication, research, and critical thinking skills that support students long after the final round.