On February 21st and 22nd, Palisade High School Debate team made school history with extraordinary success, taking home a first place finish by Mila Stephen, a second place finish by Ava Pierson, and many more top ranks. Pierson has been on the team for all four years and has great passion for the sport and the team. When discussing the season as a whole, Pierson explains, “This season was fantastic, I’ve been going through a lot, especially at the beginning of the year but once I was able to pick myself back up and get back into Speech and Debate, that became my rock for the whole year. I love my team so much and I’ve done so great this year and have been so proud of myself and even everyone else and everyone has done so phenomenal. It’s been a great year for all of us!”
The tournament took place at Pueblo Central High School. Pierson got 2nd place in Original Oratory, which is a ten-minute speech that is a call to action. She’s been specializing in this event since her Freshman year and it has always been her top event. Pierson has a great amount of love for her teammates and says, “Every overnight trip are always the tournaments that are the most fun because we are on the bus together for hours and then we are a the hotel and go swimming, and because we are spending the whole weekend together, there’s just a lot of bonding. Everyone on the team is friends already and so it’s not inherently seen as a school event but more of a trip with your friends for the weekend. It’s some of the best memories I’ve made in high school.” This was a spectacular way to end off her high school Speech and Debate career and shares her excitement and endearment for this particular trip. Pierson states, “Most of us always like the post-tournament activities because we are so tired and have been talking for 12 hours and competing. So my favorite part of this tournament was being able to go to dinner afterwards with all of our awards and ribbons. This year we went to a burger joint and then went and swam at the pool which was so awesome to just relax and decompress.”
Pierson would love to continue Speech and Debate in college because of her pure passion for the sport as well as the fact that it could help her in her degree if she’s pursuing Pre-Law. Pierson’s teammate, Mila Stephen won first place in CHSAA 4A Speech Debate Tournament in extemporaneous speaking, a very admirable accomplishment. This year was a very successful year for the Speech and Debate team and their accomplishments should be highlighted and applauded. Go check out the most recent Athlete of the week story to learn more about the incredible Mila Stephen and her accomplishments.
