Beresford’s Speech and Debate team placed third in “A School” Team Sweepstakes at the South Dakota State Speech and Debate Tournament in Watertown on March 1-2, 2024. Seven students from Beresford High School and Middle School attended, including Juniors Laney Andrews and Max Josko; Freshman Emma Andrews and Isabelle Beeson; 8th graders Henry Huether and Max Kinney; and 7th grader Raiden Hanner.
There are four individual events at the state tournament: Original Oratory, Informational Speaking, Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking, and International Extemporaneous Speaking. There are two categories of debate: Public Forum and Lincoln Douglas Debate.
After preliminary rounds, Beresford had finalists who advanced in each of the Individual Event categories. In the final round of Informational Speaking, Emma Andrews placed second, and Max Josko placed sixth. In Original Oratory, Laney Andrews placed third, and Emma Andrews placed sixth. In the International Extemp finals, Laney Andrews placed fifth, and in Domestic Extemp, Max Josko placed sixth. While not advancing to finals, 8th graders Max Kinney was the "near miss" placing seventh in Domestic Extemp and Henry Huether placed 8th in International Extemp.
The Public Forum team of Isabelle Beeson and Max Josko advanced to the Quarterfinals with a perfect 3-0 record in prelim rounds. Beresford's other Public Forum Team, Laney Andrews and Max Kinney had a 1-2 record and did not advance.
Two middle school students represented Beresford in Lincoln Douglas Debate: Henry Huether and Raiden Hanner. Neither advanced to Semi-finals after prelims.
In South Dakota, the largest 16 schools are in the “AA” Division, and any other schools compete in the “A” division. There were ten “A” schools at this year’s tournament. Coach Ann Tornberg comments: "Beresford was the smallest school based on 9-12 student numbers at the State Tournament in the Class "A" division. We were also the only school that had middle school students competing. Despite being the smallest and youngest, Beresford speech and debate students represented their school and community well with this third place sweepstakes award.”
Beresford's 2024 State Speech and Debate Team (l to r): Max Kinney, Laney Andrews, Max Josko, Isabelle Beeson, Raiden Hanner, Henry Huether, and Emma Andrews. Not pictured, Coach Ann Tornberg.