After competing at Garden City on Jan. 17 and 18, the varsity debate team returned home with a four-speaker state championship, successfully ending their 2024-2025 season by bringing down Washburn Rural, the previous reigning champions.
The 4-speaker team consisted of seniors Anwen Williams, Cooper Hefty, Gilly Falin, Nathan Peltier, Cooper Elo and junior Breahna Randall.
Additionally, junior Lena Hasiuk and sophomore Carter Fite left their stamp on the state debate scene in the 2-speaker category by making it to the octo-finals.
The four-speaker team’s preparation began months in advance, and Hefty said that the road to state required months of preparation and long hours of practicing.
“If I wasn’t doing homework or sleeping, I was probably prepping for state,” Hefty said.
They said that this hard work paid off, however, as the team not only finished first overall, but also took 27 of the 36 ballots from Kansas State High School Activities Association state judges.
Even more importantly for the 4-speaker team, the Firebirds defeated their rivals from Washburn Rural High School, snapping an eight-year streak of championships. The Junior Blues finished second overall.
Because Washburn Rural’s team consisted of all seniors, Free State’s 4-speaker team had already faced them a handful of times. For Hefty, that history motivated the Firebirds.
Williams said that Washburn Rural’s winning streak, while intimidating, ultimately pushed her team to take home this year’s win.
“[Washburn Rural’s winning streak] is more of an incentive for us, and more scary for them, because they’re defending something and everyone else is going for it,” Williams said.
Both Hefty and Williams said that the team’s win validated their hard work throughout the past four years, and Hefty said that this state tournament felt different than all of the previous ones.
“Winning first always just feels different,” Hefty said. “We played ‘We Are the Champions’ on the van ride home from the tournament, and I’ve honestly never been prouder of myself, the team, and the coaching staff.”
As their season concludes, they will now prepare for the upcoming forensics season hoping for a sixth consecutive championship.
