Skyline High School’s Speech and Debate team took 1st place at the State Tournament on March 11th. However, this isn’t the first time, this is the third year in a row they’ve won sweeps. 

With mixed emotions of confidence and nerves, Skyline took 30 members to the state tournament at Hillcrest High. Mabel Crouse, a freshman who competed at state, said, “We’ve improved so much over the season […] It was a really big tournament, so everyone was really pumped up and doing their best.” 

 Skyline won 1st in state for the 2020-2021 year, and the 2021-2022 year as well. Trevor McMillan is a senior who’s done debate every year of high school. “We felt good about it[…] there was recognition that we had the talent” McMillan stated.“We’ve seen a lot of consistency with our teams. Everyone is doing better, not just one or two individuals. And I think that’s helped us have a lot of high quartile points. So I think community is a big part of our success[…]  and I only anticipate that it’s going to grow and become a greater contributor to our team’s success in the future.” 

This tournament brings the 2022-2023 debate season to a close. McMillian says, “In my opinion, we’re not only going to win the state next year, we’re going to win more points”. Debate season will start again next year, and  the team encourages everyone to join. Members say Debate and speech helped them develop speaking skills and understanding.  “It’s about creating an opportunity for students to walk in, learn a little bit about what’s going on in the world, and how you can really cultivate an identity and point of view of what’s happening.”