Although the Flathead speech and debate team finished second to rival Bozeman at the state tournament in Great Falls last weekend, it wasn't from a lack of sacrifice and hard work.
Among the heroic deeds leading up to state: ¥ coach Dave Ransier quit his job at a local shipping company earlier than he had planned so he could go with the team to Great Falls; ¥ coach Sean O'Donnell coached the team members from his hospital bed; ¥ junior George Nelson, upon returning from the tournament at 2:30 a.m, had to pack and be on a plane three hours later to go to Washington, D.C. to be a Senate page for Max Baucus.
"He is such a dedicated person," said sophomore Emily Cummings of coach O'Donnell. "He lives and breathes for everybody he coaches. It's an honor to have him on the coaching staff."
Flathead ended up with 185 points to finish second behind Bozeman, which had 235 points.
"This is maybe the best team that Flathead High has ever had," said coach Greg Adkins. "There are so many leaders on the team. I have never been on a team that worked harder or was more focused."
This years state tournament, which featured 13 AA schools, produced two individual state champions for Flathead.
Cummings, competing in the memorized public address, became just the second sophomore ever from Flathead to win state. And senior Trina Zahller, after never finishing higher than fourth place during the season, took first place in serious interpretation.
"I was able to see things in my speech I had never seen before," said Zahller. "It all seemed to come together."
Of the 42 kids who went to state, 21 were seniors.
Said Adkins:"This was a great team. It's going to be hard to replace them."