Carson High speech, debate has first home event since COVID

Carson High School senior Abigail Cook is the only speech and debate student this year to remember what it was like to host a home tournament before COVID-19 set in 2020.

She calls it a “doozy” if there aren’t enough judges to staff the competition long enough, something most of her classmates who have come after her hadn’t seen before this month’s competition.

Carson High’s first speech and debate tournament in almost three years on Dec. 9 and 10 hosted 14 schools, 72 volunteer judges and 169 competitors all cooperating in 10 rounds of competition, according to CHS social studies teacher and speech coach Patrick Mobley. It was quite the turnout for the Senators’ team to experience the event at home as it was before the pandemic hit, before there were bigger rules and restrictions – before things were different.

Cook, a freshman in 2020, was younger then and just wading into the waters of learning about tournaments. She said in debate at the time, she was more timid, but by the time she became a sophomore, she found her grounding. She had won first place in a district tournament pre-COVID as a freshman but never placed in the senior division in debate. Now she describes herself as a “very competitive person” who likes being a perfectionist.

“Somehow, I put on my big-girl pants and competed, and I’m doing OK in senior debate,” she said. “I didn’t participate as much as I would this year, but it was a really cool experience.”

Mobley recalled making the drive to Las Vegas in February 2020 with his team when the word came in that it would be canceled.

In fact, back in June 2020, six of his students had taken part in the Online National Speech and Debate Tournament putting 5,300 students to the test against the country’s best among 1,322 schools. Mobley had told the Appeal at the time that because of COVID restrictions, the last time he had seen any of his students at that time was when they were “on a bus.”

“It’ll be nice to have a tournament here again,” Mobley said in early December prior to the tournament.

Reporting on the results of this month’s event, he said 15 members of Carson’s squad participated, with many of them advancing to final rounds and taking top spots.

Mobley noted in Humorous Interpretation, Mason Tims placed third in senior performing “The Merchandise King,” a satire of “The Lion King.”

In novice, Robert Sainz finished second overall with his interpretation of “Toy Story.”

In Original Oratory, Kyle Allen finished sixth in senior competition calling for the protection of women’s rights, and Summer McGill claimed fourth in novice explaining the issue of homelessness among LGBTQ youth. McGill also finished second overall in the Big Questions debate on the topic, “Humans are primarily motivated by self-interest.” Mobley said she has moved up to senior division.

In overall debate, earning speaker points for their events, Nasia Perkins finished 10th, Pebble Wiggins finished ninth, Kyle Allen and Mason Tims claimed eighth, Emily Tran came in sixth, Penelope Truell placed fifth and McGill came in third.

Partners Cook and Penelope Truell finished third overall in the Public Forum debate on the topic, “The United States’ great power competition strategy produces more benefits than harms.”

Finally, Mobley said, Carson continues to dominate in the Program Oral Interpretation. Cook finished fifth with her program examining condemnation of female sexuality. Penelope Truell took second with her piece on drug abuse and rehabilitation, and Emily Truell finished first looking at discrimination against refugees of the Vietnam War.

There were about 70 judges expected to adjudicate the rounds, and those who are inexperienced eventually learn to relax into the role and get to know how to coach the students, he said before the tournament as students were preparing. The team now looks ahead to the next tournament at Damonte Ranch High School in January, Mobley said.

“It’s just like I tell students getting into the first round,” he said. “Once you get into the first round, it becomes fun and then the judges want to come back. Yes, it’s intimidating, but the judges still have all the power.”

Cook, meanwhile, is looking at her options for college in Washington and adds there are “lot more things on my bucket list before I graduate.”