By HILARY MATHESON/Daily Inter Lake | 

The Columbia Falls High School speech-and-debate state championship dynasty continued Saturday as the team brought home its 11th consecutive title.

This time around, however, the gap between first and second was extremely close at the Class A state tournament in Belgrade.

Both Whitefish and Columbia Falls were neck-and-neck the entire competition with the winner decided by the final ballots.

In the end, the Wildcats rose to the top with 229 sweepstakes points and the Whitefish Bulldogs, in second place, amassed 204 points. Polson was third with 83 points.

Columbia Falls’ individual championships went to — Ava Chisholm in Humorous Interpretation; Chloe Foster and Emily Getts in Expository Speaking; and Jerelyn Jones in Dramatic Interpretation.

“We are grateful and deeply humbled by the level of competition we have encountered up until the last second of this season,” Columbia Falls Head Coach Tara Norick said. “Our students worked so hard right until the end and we couldn’t be more proud.

Whitefish Head Coach Sara Mueller said she was proud of her team’s accomplishments at state. With three individual champions winning five events. Whitefish’s first-place finishers were — Abbie Belcher in Extemporaneous Speaking and Impromptu Speaking; Sam Benkelman in Original Oratory and Memorized Public Address; and Dakota Henson in Lincoln-Douglas Debate.

“I’m really proud of what we accomplished,” Mueller said.

Polson had two individual championships — Annabelle Smith and Sophia Speckert in Policy Debate and Mollie Lemm and Katelyn Toland in Public Forum Debate.

Class A Speech Sweeps

1. Columbia Falls, 229

2. Whitefish, 204

3. Polson, 83

Individual Results

Policy Debate

1. Annabelle Smith and Sophia Speckert, Polson

3. Annabel Conger and Colin Norick, Columbia Falls

4. Ian Caltabiano and Zach Kasselder, Whitefish

5. Ruth Nelson and Shayne Williams, Columbia Falls

7. Danielle Schwalk and Ian McKenzie, Columbia Falls

Lincoln-Douglas Debate

1. Dakota Henson, Whitefish

3. Kenyon Cairns, Polson

Public Forum Debate

1. Katelyn Toland and Mollie Lemm, Polson

2. Anna Nicosia and Mary Ward, Columbia Falls

5. Bergen Carloss and Kate Ehrenberg, Whitefish

7. Cassidy Norick and Kelsey Wright, Columbia Falls

8. Mike Dittrich and Sarah Posey, Columbia Falls

Extemporaneous Speaking

2. Abbie Belcher, Whitefish

4. Zach Ade, Whitefish

6. Danny Morgan, Columbia Falls

7. Tim Ingham, Columbia Falls

8. Makkie Haller, Whitefish

Impromptu Speaking

2. Abbie Belcher, Whitefish

3. Ava Chisholm, Columbia Falls

4. Teigen Tremper, Whitefish

5. Geneva des Lions, Polson

6. Saige Percy, Whitefish

7. Tim Ingham, Columbia Falls

8. Willie Baltz, Columbia Falls

Original Oratory

1. Sam Benkelman, Whitefish

2. Chloe Foster, Columbia Falls

4. Emily Getts, Columbia Falls

8. Lindsey Matulionis, Whitefish

Expository Speaking

1. Emily Getts, Columbia Falls

2. Teigan Tremper, Whitefish

8. Regan Tinzman, Whitefish

Memorized Public Address

1. Sam Benkelman, Whitefish

2. Chloe Foster, Columbia Falls

3. Zach Ade, Whitefish

5. Austin Reese, Whitefish

6. Joey Chester, Columbia Falls

7. Emma Erikson, Columbia Falls

Humorous Interpretation

1. Ava Chisholm, Columbia Falls

2. Saige Perchy, Whitefish

3. Jerelyn Jones, Columbia Falls

4. Brandon Karberg, Columbia Falls

Dramatic Interpretation

1. Jerelyn Jones, Columbia Falls

2. Hunter Cripe, Whitefish

5. Jacob Hohman, Columbia Falls