Cibola Winter Classic

P-Russ's recap:

SUBJECT: 1st 1st for the Gavelin' Eagles at Cibola!!! 🥇🦅🥳

Good evening, all,

The final speech and debate tournament of 2023 has come and gone, and what a capstone it was for the Gavelin' Eagles' incredible first full calendar year of competition. At the Cibola Winter Classic Speech & Debate Tournament that took place yesterday in Albuquerque, the team once again did us all mighty proud -- and achieved a couple amazing firsts for NPS Speech & Debate!

• Natashia Anderson was 1st in the state for Program Oral Interpretation, the tournament's most competitive Interp event! While we have met so much success in these brief 15 months of our existence, we had never actually taken first in any event... until last night!!!

• Aspyn Kaskalla took 2nd in US Extemporaneous Speaking! She also got fifth place in Informative Speaking, the tournament's most competitive event!

• Danica Becenti took 3rd in Dramatic Interpretation, her first time trying the event!

• The team of Nalanaya Austin and Natashia Anderson took 4th in Duo Interpretation!

• Lola Williams took 4th in Dramatic Interpretation and won the Top Novice Speaker award for that event!

• The team of Bradley Redhouse and Rodericka Hale-Toledo took 5th in Duo Interpretation! Bradley also got 7th in Program Oral Interpretation!

• The team of Elliot Crooks and Kiara Jim tried their hand at Policy Debate, which is notorious for being the most daunting and inaccessible event in the world of speech and debate -- and they did admirably, finishing 5th in the novice division!

• Josiah Dineyazhe took 6th in Impromptu, the tournament's second most competitive event! Josiah was also 8th in US Extemp!

• Ashleigh Mitchell took 6th in Program Oral Interpretation and was the event's second-highest-performing novice!

• In her S&D debut, Justyce Scott took 6th in International Extemporaneous Speaking, and was the event's second-highest-performing novice!

• Haley Manygoats took 7th in US Extemp!

• Addyson Salazar tied for 10th in Informative Speaking, which, as I said, was the tournament's most competitive event!

In other absolutely incredible news, the competition points Aspyn Kaskalla netted at this tournament have made her the first student in Gavelin' Eagles history to earn the National Speech & Debate Association Honor Society's highly prestigious Degree of Superior Distinction, which is an incredible milestone and puts her well on track to achieving the top student honor the NSDA offers: the Degree of Premier Distinction. At the moment, there is only one student in the state, a senior from Cottonwood Classical Prep, who has earned this incredible honor. Aspyn's hard work and devotion has already put her at 13th overall in the state! If she keeps up at her current pace, she may well earn the Degree of Premier Distinction before the end of her junior year.

By earning her Degree of Superior Distinction, Aspyn has cleared the highest hurdle to being named an Academic All American, a distinction usually reserved  for student athletes (although, as I am fond of saying, speech and debate is a sport OF THE MIND). However, this accolade is only bestowed on students who have completed the first semester of their junior year. As soon as Aspyn gets there, she's in!

Please congratulate all these kiddos when you see them around this week! As much as we all love S&D, we are looking forward to the longest break of the season... before we jump back in in early January for two more regular season tournaments -- and then the postseason!

Big thanks once again to Ms. Kaskalla for her continued coaching, chaperoning, and just unmitigated love and care for the Gavelin' Eagles. Also, thanks to community member Malyssa Egge for coaching Elliott and Kiara in Policy (about which I know almost nothing!), and thanks to Mary Dickey for getting us there and back safely. Finally, thanks to all the other community members who volunteered as judges for our team and enabled our kids to compete!!!

Best regards,

Russell