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Manti speech and debate claims region title; North Sanpete comes in second

Members of the Manti High School speech and debate team pose with their region championship trophy Saturday at North Sanpete High School in Mount Pleasant. Manti defeated North Sanpete, Emery, Carbon and Union to claim the Region Championship and advance to the state tournament in March at Ogden High School.

MT. PLEASANT — Manti High School captured the Region Speech and Debate Championship on Saturday at North Sanpete High School, finishing with 121 sweepstakes points. North Sanpete placed second with 88 points.

The region title advances Manti to the State Championship Tournament March 20–21 at Ogden High School.

Natalie Dowding led Manti with first-place finishes in Lincoln-Douglas Debate and Combined Interpretation.

In Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Caspian Bahlmann tied for second for Manti. Clara Hales placed fourth and Porter Mikesell finished fifth. For North Sanpete, Lily Mitchell placed 10th, Zaid Hernandez finished 12th, Daxton Arnoldson placed 13th and Swazeylynn Bills finished 15th.

In Public Forum Debate, Holbrook & Madsen of North Sanpete placed first with a 3-0 record and 178 points. Wasden & Brooks of Manti placed second with a 3-0 record and 176 points. Benson & Mendicino placed fourth and Smith & Shelley finished fifth for North Sanpete.

In Policy Debate, Barlow & DeFrisco placed third for Manti. Kjar & Shumway finished fifth. Shirley & Clawson placed fourth for North Sanpete, and Tui & Kasperson finished sixth.

In National Extemporaneous Speaking, Alistair Wasden placed first for Manti. Hannah Holbrook finished second for North Sanpete. Tyson Smith placed fifth, Zaid Hernandez finished 10th and Swazeylynn Bills placed 12th for North Sanpete.

In Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking, Ethan Mendicino won the event for North Sanpete. Makenzie Rasmussen finished second for Manti. Abby Powell placed third and Sadie Sterzik finished fourth for Manti. Quincy Benson placed sixth, Jonas Kimball finished eighth and Kortney Mitchell tied for ninth for North Sanpete.

In Informative Speaking, Katie Jones placed first for North Sanpete. Clara Hales finished second for Manti. Porter Mikesell tied for third. Lily Mitchell tied for third for North Sanpete. Sophyia Shumway placed eighth and Ethan Barlow tied for 11th for Manti. Brisa Vazquez finished 13th for North Sanpete.

In Original Oratory, Wyatt Bills placed third for North Sanpete. Madison Shelley tied for fourth. Adrienne Herbert finished sixth for Manti. Aspen Tui placed ninth and Rachel Kasperson finished 13th for North Sanpete.

In Impromptu Speaking, Tom Brooks and Caspian Bahlmann tied for first for Manti. Calvin Western placed fourth and Caleb Maxwell finished fifth. Andrew Madsen placed sixth, Shannon Jolley finished seventh, Daxton Arnoldson placed eighth and Amelia Hinckley finished 11th for North Sanpete.

In Student Congress, Kannon Christiansen placed third, Alecia King finished fourth, Caleb Maxwell placed fifth and Calvin Western finished seventh for Manti. Wyatt Bills placed second for North Sanpete. Katie Jones finished 10th, Kortney Mitchell tied for 11th and Shannon Jolley tied for 13th.

Manti’s 121 sweepstakes points secured the region championship, while North Sanpete’s 88-point finish earned runner-up honors and multiple state qualifiers.