Since 2019, forensics has placed first in sweepstakes consecutively at the last six state competitions, predating all members of the state team and new speech and debate coach Parker Hopkins.
Sweepstakes is a ranking system where schools or individuals earn points based on the amount of entries that make it to finals and the placements those entries achieve, with higher placements earning more points. Because it can come down to a small margin of points between schools, junior Olive Minor said there can be a lot of pressure for each individual to perform well at state.
“We didn’t start the legacy, but we get to continue it,” Minor said. “Our coaches make it clear that it’s not our responsibility to do this, but it’s something that we get to do.”
Despite the expectations for the team, junior Breahna Randall said everyone tries to focus on their own individual performances in order to avoid stress. Moreover, Randall said this is especially important since there are many outside factors in forensics, like judges’ opinions and competitors’ pieces.
“The thing the coaches keep telling us is that state is for you and not for the team,” Randall said. “The coaches have been really good in that aspect, focusing on your [individual] improvement and not pressuring yourself too much.”
This year, senior Anwen Williams said there has been more anxiety surrounding state than usual because of the loss of some seniors and the performances of competing schools. Because it’s following so much concern, Williams said she hopes winning will give the program a deserved confidence booster.
“A lot fewer people thought we wouldn’t win state this year, but then we managed to pull it together, which was really important, because it left people feeling a lot better about our team than they were feeling,” Williams said.
After competing in Informative Speaking at state for the last four years, Williams won gold for the first time in that event this year. Williams said she’s happy where she’s ending her forensics career and the legacy of the program.
“This year, I really, really wanted to win because that’s what I would have wanted when I was a freshman,” Williams said. “So when I won, I felt like it was really bittersweet, because it was like, “Imagine if I was 14, and you told me I was gonna win state.”
Even though everyone competes and places individually, Minor said without everyone’s hard work they wouldn’t be able to succeed as a team.
“It was just the culmination of all the hard work that we put in over the season,” Minor said. “It felt really rewarding.”
