Manti speech and debate tops field at Beaver Battles

Manti’s Speech and Debate team poses for a photo with their coach, Eric Peterson, on the stage after winning first place at the Beaver Battles tournament on Saturday

BEAVER — The Manti High School speech and debate team won the Beaver Battles Tournament on Saturday, finishing first overall among 22 competing schools from 1A through 4A classifications.
According to coach Eric Peterson, Manti secured the team title after officials tallied points from 230 student competitors. The top two individual finishers also came from Manti. Natalie Dowding won first place overall and received the tournament’s “Best Darn Beaver” award, while Tom Brooks placed second overall.
The team’s victory extended Manti’s overall winning streak to 19 consecutive tournaments.
Dowding and Brooks also earned multiple individual awards across events. Brooks placed first in Panhandling and fourth in Impromptu and teamed with Alistair Wasden for a fourth-place finish in Public Forum Debate. Dowding took first in TV News Anchor with Sophie Walk, placed third in Humorous Interpretation, third in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, and finished fifth in Character SPAR.
Other Manti students recorded top finishes throughout the tournament. Walk placed second in Panhandling and first in TV News Anchor alongside Dowding. Porter Mikesell and Calvin Western placed third in TV News Anchor, while Mikesell added a third-place finish in Informative Speaking with Clara Hales placing second.
In Impromptu Speaking, Caspian Bahlmann finished second and Josh Lundeberg placed third. In Duo Interpretation, Ben Dowding and Caden Hwang finished third, while Kai Peterson and Kasen Nipko placed fourth.
Kai Peterson earned a second-place finish in Dramatic Interpretation, with Hwang finishing fourth and Ben Dowding fifth. In Humorous Interpretation, Kasen Nipko placed sixth. Lundeberg added a fifth-place finish in Lincoln-Douglas Debate.
Additional results included fifth-place finishes for Dowding and sixth-place finishes for Ethan Barlow in Character SPAR, a fourth-place finish for Wasden in National Extemporaneous Speaking, fourth place for Sadie Sterzik in Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking, and a sixth-place finish for Barlow and Spencer Rasmussen in Policy Debate.
The team now prepares for the Circuit Championship tournament scheduled for Valentine’s Day at Emery High School.