The speech and debate team competed in their first meet Sept. 19. Five members participated in the student Congress event at North Lamar High School in Paris, Texas.

“It’s not a meet to judge too much off of because it was our first of the year,” sophomore Caleb Snow said. “I learned a lot about what’s going on in the world in terms of the legislation, and that’s what matters.”

Senior Sidney McGough placed first, junior Jillian Cheney placed third, junior Robin Cooper placed fourth, sophomore Caleb Snow placed fifth, and senior Natalie Portwood placed seventh.

“I’m quite satisfied with the results,” coach Amy Kemp said. “We have a lot of work to do, but I feel like, if what I see right now is any indication, we’re going to see so much growth in the future that we’re going to dominate.”

Though each member placed in the top 10 out of about 30 contestants, they are striving to become more competitive in this event in order to win more awards for the team and become more successful speakers.

“I think the team did fantastic overall,” McGough said. “I hope to learn more of the procedures in Congressional debate and become more extemporaneous in my speaking to help me improve.”

The team is only just beginning to attend meets in order to prepare for their district competition in November, and they hope to advance to state with more practice and preparation.

“It’s my expectation for my students to break out of district and make it to state,” Kemp said. “I’ll offer them as many invitationals as they can get to so they can get so much practice in and compete at their best.”