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Flathead Conquers again

  Eric Galpin & Alice Abbud - Arrow Staff

A.J. Nash congratulates John-Michael Myers with a big bear hug, after Myers just received notice that he had won the state title in Parliamentary Debate - Senate.

   "Hawk tastes like chicken, just a little sweeter."

   With a slogan like that, one can only assume that Flathead barbecued Bozeman at the state speech tournament held this past weekend at FHS.

   The Flathead speech and debate teams outscored runner-up Bozeman 313-196, yet again taking the title of state champions, for the fourth consecutive year in a row.
"They were the true essence of a team, they were loyal, supportive and committed to each other," said Greg Adkins.

   Thirteen AA schools attended the state speech meet from Montana. Between the rounds, students paced the halls reciting their speeches and preparing for one of the biggest meets of their lives.

   Among the Flathead students six arrived home late Saturday night as state champions. Andrew Bissell, John- Michael Myers, Jon Fetter-Vorm, Josh Berg, David Edwards and Andrea Swanberg placed first in their events.

   When state champions Swanberg, Myers, and Berg were asked 'How did the team do at state?' All three came to a conclusion, "Just look at the score."
Having the state meet at home played a big influence on how Flathead students performed in the meet.

   "It was great for the kids to show the community how amazing they are," said Adkins.

   "This tournament had a different feel being in your home town," said Edwards. "We didn't have the usual team bonding experience on the long bus trips."

   Said Swanberg, "It was cool to have a state meet at home during my senior year. The team did awesome, it was an amazing season."

   "This team was probably the best team I've ever coached. They weren't like that in the beginning of the year," said Adkins. "The kids kept getting better and better. They had balance."

   Through out the meet, Flathead progressively improved. The atmosphere continued to grow with good news and great experiences all through the competition.

   "The tournament had a snowball effect," said Edwards. "You would feel good after finishing a round and then learn that someone else had also done well."

   The Flathead speech and debate team is not like an ordinary sports team. The team can not just get together in a huddle and cheer each other on; instead they have formed their own way of staying connected as a team.

   Before each round students would bow there head in what's called the 'Flathead Bow' and wish another member of the team good luck.

   "We think about someone else, so the team can stay connected, because were not like a basketball team out there on the floor together," said Swanberg.

   Now that speech is over many seniors will be departing the team. Among them, Josh Berg comments on what he will miss most.

   "It's hard to say what I'll miss the most about speech because every aspect of speech is something I'll never forget," said Berg.

   The commitment and time that Flathead students put into their speeches is phenomenal from long hours of practice to extensive research.

   "There's a lot of research involved," commened Myers.

   Judges keep straight faces and no student really knows how well they did after their rounds. Some students, however, have their own ways of telling how well they competed.

   "It tingles when I give a good speech," said Swanberg.

   Said Berg: "It was the best meet of my life."