(Milford)– The Okoboji/Spirit Lake Debate team is the best there is in the state of Iowa.
The team finished in first place over the weekend at the Iowa High School Speech Association State Tournament in Des Moines.
Head Coach Greg Stevens says all 26 members of the team competed Friday and Saturday and earned enough points to bring home the state championship trophy. Stevens says 23 of the 26 brought home awards.
Stevens says OSL debaters scored points in all four debate events, dominating the field as the six OSL teams combined to go 27-3 in preliminary rounds, with all the students advancing to elimination rounds. The three teams of Fales-Noethe, Osman-Hilsabeck and Ohrt-Boltinghouse were undefeated throughout the tournament and were crowned state champions.
Other team members consisting of Joe Walker and Britney Hanson, Tom Nordstrom and Alyssa Geinitz and Jennifer Kaiser and Ed Letcher finished with a combined record of 40-4.
Jared Ransom won Student Congress.
Stevens says this is the first overall debate state championship for OSL and the first individual state champions for OHS since 1995.
Ransom is the third student congress state champion for OHS.
